Iran's president reiterates no retreat from nuclear rights

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday that his country would not give up "one iota" of its nuclear rights, state television reported.

"Our nation supports negotiations, but the world must know that the Iranian nation will not back down one iota on its nuclear right," Ahmadinejad told a rally in the town of Islamshahr, about 35 km southwest of Tehran.

"Members of the International Atomic Energy Agency have the rights to receive assistance from the agency to develop the nuclear fuel circle," he said in the speech broadcast live on the television.

The Iranian president also brushed aside possible sanctions against his country, saying Iran had gained its capability in nuclear energy when the United States imposed economic and scientific sanctions against Tehran.

EU foreign ministers issued a statement on Tuesday, saying that if Iran did not comply with UN Security Council's requirements, the EU would "work for the adoption of measures under Article 41 of the UN Charter," which stipulates economic and diplomatic sanctions.

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani warned on Wednesday that any possible UN Security Council sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program would cripple the chance of a peaceful solution to the issue.

Source: Xinhua