Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday called on the European countries not to adopt sanctions after today's UN deadline demanding Iran to suspend uranium enrichment work, saying punishment could not force the country to abandon its nuclear program, the Iranian state-run television channel reported.

"Europe should better be independent to make decisions and resolve problems through negotiations, because sanctions cannot prevent Iranian people from conquest of peaks of pride," said Ahmadinejad.

The Iranian president made the comments at a meeting with former Spanish Premier Philippe Gonzales Wednesday, just one day before a UN Security Council deadline.

The Security Council (UNSC) has recently adopted a resolution urging Tehran to suspend by Aug. 31 all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development, or face the prospect of sanctions.

On Tuesday, the president said at his personal press conference that no one can stop Iran's decision to continue its peaceful nuclear program.

Iran's ranking officials have said the resolution was "unacceptable", terming it as "illegal".

However, the United States also has reiterated that it was ready to push the UNSC to adopt another resolution to throw economic sanctions on Iran if the country failed to halt enrichment work after Thursday.

The U.S. has accused Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons under a civilian front, a charge categorically denied by Tehran which says that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.