NEW YORK, Sept 20: The New York police and mayor’s office have rejected Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s request to lay a wreath at the World Trade Centre memorial site when during his visit to the city next week.

New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told reporters on Wednesday that the Iranian president, scheduled to arrive in New York on Sunday to address the UN General Assembly, had asked the police department, the US Secret Service and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey earlier this month for permission to visit the site of the Sept 11 terrorist attacks.

The request to enter the fenced-in site was rejected because of ongoing construction, Commissioner Kelly said. Requests for the Iranian president to visit the immediate area would also be opposed by the New York Police Department on security grounds, another official said.