novel YORK -- Twenty-seven years af...

novel YORK -- Twenty-seven years after a chilling sit-down with Ayatollah Khomeini that was the same of Mike Wallace's most memorable, the CB newsman snagged an interview this week with instant Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran.

The 88-year-old Wallace had been pursuing the interview for thus long that he had to be reminded according to Ahmadinejad when he first asked for it.

A portion of Wallace's interview, careered Tuesday at a crucial time in the Mideast with Israel fighting the Iran-backed Hezbollah, will be shown upon "60 Minutes" at 6 pm Sunday in succession WBBM-Channel 2. The full conversation can be seen at 7 pm Monday forward cable's C- SPAN.

During the American hostage crisis in 1979 Wallace interviewed Iranian leader Khomeini, locking vigilances with the cleric when he asked for a replication to Egyptian President Anwar Sadat calling Khomeini a lunatic.

Of Ahmadinejad, Wallace said, "He's an impressive mate this guy. He really is. He's obviously smart as hell."

Wallace said he was surprised to find that the Iranian president was still a guild professor. "You'll find him an interesting man," he said. "I rely uponed more of a firebrand."

Wallace said he had been seeking the interview for more than a year, since he sat nearest to Ahmadinejad at a United Nations breakfast and told him that he'd like to draw near to Iran to talk to him someday.

Wallace said he nearly prostrate out of his chair when Ahmadinejad told him, "I hear this is your last interview."

Wallace said he replied: "What do you think? Is it a profitable idea to retire?"

He said Ahmadinejad told him it was important to restrain doing interesting things. And Wallace is already thinking about his nearest possible interview: with Supreme Court Justice tenderness Bader Ginsburg.

Copyright CHICAGO SUN-TIMES 2006

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