“Iran will never abandon its peaceful (nuclear) work,” Ahmadinejad told state television. “Our nuclear work is legal and why should we stop it?”
Iran says its nuclear program is meant to generate electricity so it can export more of its oil wealth — not to make bombs, as Western powers suspect after years of Iranian secrecy and evasions.
Two sets of sanctions have been imposed on the Islamic state for defying repeated U.N. resolutions demanding it suspend all nuclear fuel activity.
Ahmadinejad said U.N. resolutions could not prevent the Islamic state from obtaining nuclear technology.
“Let’s say they issue the resolution 300 … what will happen? It should be remembered that Iran is obtaining nuclear technology,” Ahmadinejad said. “They have to eventually accept that.”
In an attempt to avert tougher sanctions, Tehran has agreed to increase its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency to clarify the scope of its nuclear work.
Inspectors of the U.N. nuclear watchdog will arrive in Iran on Thursday to visit the country’s nuclear facilities, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency said on Wednesday.
Tehran has warned Washington, which leads efforts to isolate Iran over its disputed nuclear program, to back off from broader sanctions, saying such measures would harm the new diplomatic opportunities.
