President Barack Obama took a brief break from campaigning Tuesday to address the United Nations General Assembly regarding the unrest in the Middle East.
    
Referencing the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in  Benghazi, Libya, he vowed that anti-American rage among Muslims abroad will never force the United States to backtrack on diplomacy.

"Today, we must affirm that our future will be determined by people like Chris Stevens and not by his killers," Obama said of the U.S. ambassador, who was killed during the consulate attack.

The White House is now calling the incident, which was said to be sparked by the anti-Muslim film "Innocence of Muslims," a terrorist attack. 

"There are no words that excuse the killing of innocents," the president told the assembly. "There is no video that justifies an attack on an embassy."

"I know there are some who ask why we don't just ban such a video," he continued. "The answer is enshrined in our laws: our Constitution protects the right to practice free speech."

The president also declared that the United States won't allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons.

"Make no mistake: a nuclear-armed Iran is not a challenge that can be contained," Obama warned.

"That is why a coalition of countries is holding the Iranian government accountable," he said. "And that is why the United States will do what we must to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon."

But Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has denied his country is building those bombs. He told reporters in New York Monday that the Islamic Republic isn't worried about an Israeli strike.
    
He added that Israel has no roots in the Middle East and would be eliminated.