"God willing, the dark ages of humanity are coming to an end and the Iranian nation can fill the vacuum created by the collapse of imperialistic powers", Ahmadinejad told a meeting of Iranian expatriates in Tajikistan on Monday, according to the state-run Fars news agency.
Iran has long been accused of fuelling violence in the Middle East, while Western leaders have long accused Tehran of attempting to build nuclear weapons in its attempts to expand its influence in the region.