Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday that Tehran’s foes are no match for the Islamic nation, and they will soon collapse, the country’s official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Ahmadinejad, appearing with cabinet ministers and provincial clerics in the northwestern province of Zanjan, criticized “arrogant powers,” saying that their economic, political and cultural structures are collapsing.

"Big powers hatched plots against the Islamic Republic to overthrow it but they were faced with resistance of the Iranian nation. So, they set their goals in a way to prevent Iran from becoming a more powerful country," the hardline president told IRNA.

His comments came as new information from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, reports that Iran has enriched enough uranium to produce a nuclear bomb.

Ahmadinejad also threatened would-be invaders, saying that Iran would “cut the hands and legs” of those who violate the rights of Iranians, the FARS News Agency reported.

His remarks came amid intense pressure from the U.S. and other world powers over the country’s controversial nuclear program, a charge Tehran denies.

Ahmadinejad is no stranger to controversial comments. He is under fire worldwide for his remarks on the destruction of Israel, his "suspicions" of the Sept. 11 terror attacks and his belief that homosexuals deserve to be executed and/or tortured.

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