Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said today that his country would
never give up its right of exploiting peaceful nuclear energy, one day after
Tehran disregarded a UN Security Council deadline for it to suspend uranium
enrichment.
"Exploitation of peaceful nuclear energy is our undeniable right,"
Ahmadinejad told a rally in the northwestern city of Maku.
"The Iranian people will never give up their legal right," state television
quoted him as saying.
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution in late July urging Tehran to
suspend by Aug. 31 all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including
research and development, or face prospect of sanctions.
On Thursday, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohammed ElBaradei
presented a report to the Security Council, saying "Iran has continued enriching
uranium despite a UN nuclear deadline for it to suspend or face possible
sanctions."
