Sep 20, 2017

An Iranian television translator defended himself Wednesday after being widely criticised for soft-balling US President Donald Trump's attacks on Iran in his maiden speech to the UN General Assembly.

Nima Chitsaz, a translator for state broadcaster IRIB, said he had decided in the heat of the moment to spare his Persian-speaking viewers from the verbal attacks by the US president.

"I don't think it would be nice for me to speak on national TV against my own country," he later told IRINN television.

As a result, when Trump accused Iran of being a "depleted rogue state whose chief exports are violence,

bloodshed and chaos", Chitsaz's Persian translation was simply: "Iran speaks of destroying Israel."