Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad said yesterday that his country has the "undeniable right" to develop nuclear energy and will not "succumb to bullying" by "fake superpowers."

 

Tehran is determined to develop nuclear energy "with the support of the scientists and young people of the Iranian nation," Ahmedinejad told a big rally, broadcast by state television, in Bushehr, capital city of the homonymic province in the south.

 

"Our nation will continue its path until full realization of rights on peaceful nuclear technology," he said.

 

Earlier, he said upon his arrival in Bushehr that any decision taken by the West against Iran's nuclear activities would not have any effect on the decision of Iranians, referring to a recent decision by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- the US, France, the UK, Russia and China -- and Germany to report Iran's nuclear case to the council.

 

The six concerned countries agreed at a London meeting late Monday that an upcoming International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board meeting on Thursday should report its decision on the steps required of Iran over its nuclear case to the Security Council.

 

"Europe and the West are closing their doors to negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran and their decision can only lead to their isolation in the world community," Ahmedinejad was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying.

 

"We do all we can to have wholesome political relations with them, but when they insist on their wrong moves we cannot do anything else," he added.

 

On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki sniffed at the cautious diction of "report" in the London agreement, saying reporting or referring Iran's file to the UN Security Council has nothing of difference.

 

Mottaki also threatened to cease implementation of the additional protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) on Saturday, namely blocking IAEA's snap inspections, if the London agreement was carried out at Thursday's IAEA meeting.

 

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani also said on Tuesday that either referring or reporting Iran's dossier to the Security Council would mean an end to diplomatic efforts for defusing Iranian nuclear crisis.

 

The EU expected that facing the risk of being hauled to the UN, Iran could be pressurized to resuspend its fuel research work it defiantly resumed on January 10.

 

Iran's resumption of nuclear research work prompted the EU trio of the UK, France and Germany to call for the emergency meeting of the IAEA board of governors on Thursday.

 

The US accuses Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons and the EU has asserted that Iran's full mastery of nuclear fuel cycle technology will possibly lead to military usage.

 

(Xinhua News Agency February 2, 2006)