BAGHDAD — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today dismissed U.S. accusations that his country is training extremists and demanded that the Americans withdraw from Iraq.

Speaking in a nearly hour-long news conference at the end of an unprecedented visit to Iraq, Ahmadinejad said the U.S. allegations — that Iran is training Shiite militants who target American troops and Muslim rivals — don't matter to the Iranians.

"Of course American officials make such remarks and such statements, and we do not care ... because they make statements on the basis of erroneous information," said the hard-line Iranian leader, who smiled through much of the session.

"We cannot count on what they say."

He said the foreign presence in Iraq was an "insult to the regional nations and a humiliation."

Ahmadinejad is the first Iranian president to visit Iraq, and his two-day trip highlighted one of the unintended consequences for Washington after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of the Iraq that ousted Saddam Hussein from power.

Under Saddam, a Sunni who once led an eight-year war against Iran, the two countries were bitter enemies, but Iraq's new Shiite-dominated government has deep ties to Iran's cleric-led Islamic republic.

Ahmadinejad was warmly received by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Sunni Kurd, and other Iraqi leaders. Ahmadinejad said Tehran and Baghdad are "brotherly" nations who share many beliefs and values.

"Of course, dictators and foreigners have tried to tarnish and undermine the emotional relations between the two states," he said.

Earlier today, Talabani and Ahmadinejad signed seven memorandums of understanding on issues including industrial development, trade and customs.