By Parisa Hafezi
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad marked the 28th anniversary of Iran's revolution on Sunday pledging to pursue the country's nuclear program but announcing no new atomic work that would have riled "" >
By Parisa Hafezi
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad marked the 28th anniversary of Iran's revolution on Sunday pledging to pursue the country's nuclear program but announcing no new atomic work that would have riled the West.
Ahmadinejad, under pressure at home to tone down speeches his critics say have helped push Iran toward international isolation, said he would keep within international regulations but still ruled out a UN demand to suspend uranium enrichment.
Iran has until February 21 to halt uranium enrichment, a process that can make fuel for power stations or, if greatly enriched, material for warheads. A UN sanctions resolution passed in December threatened further measures if Iran refuses.
""We are ready for talks but will not suspend our activities,"" Ahmadinejad told hundreds of thousands of Iranians in Tehran's Azadi (Freedom) square to mark the 1979 Islamic revolution, saying suspension would be ""humiliation"".
Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, met European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana in Germany on Sunday to discuss the row. Solana said after the meeting no deal had been reached but possible solutions were being explored.
The United States, which has stepped up pressure on Iran by sending a second aircraft carrier to the Gulf, has been adamant it would not accept anything short of full suspension.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy also said the international community's demand was ""exceedingly clear"". Continued...
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