Iran Rejects UN Nuclear Demands

"Iran will not accept any obligation regarding the suspension of uranium enrichment," Rohani said at a news conference on Sunday. "No international body can force Iran to do so."

Over the weekend, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, IAEA, had unanimously adopted a joint US-European resolution giving Iran two months to stop producing enriched uranium or face referral to the Security Council.

Iran digs its heels in

According to Reuters news agency, the resolution agreed to by the IAEA's board of governors called on Iran to freeze all activities related to uranium enrichment and to grant full and prompt access to the IAEA's inspectors, as well as provide them with any further information needed, by Nov. 25.

Iran responded by saying that if the issue were referred to the Security Council for possible sanctions, it would respond by blocking snap checks of its atomic facilities. Hassan Rohani, head of Iran's supreme national security council, added that were the case to go to the Security Council, Iran would also consider withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which it signed in 2003.

"If they want to send Iran to the Security Council, it is not wise, and we will stop implementing the Additional Protocol," he said. The Additional Protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty calls for snap nuclear checks by IAEA inspectors.

A "peaceful" nuclear program

Tehran has said it wants to secure its own source of fuel for power stations so that it is not dependent on other countries and stresses that Iran has a legal right to develop nuclear power. Rohani insisted that no institution had the authority to deprive a country of a peaceful nuclear energy program.

But experts also say that enrichment is an integral step in the production of atomic weapons, and Washington has long harbored suspicions about the Islamic country's aims for developing its nuclear capacity. The US believes that oil-rich Iran, which the Bush administration described as a member of the "axis of evil," has no need for nuclear reactors, even for civilian programs.

Criticism from EU

The threatening posture from Tehran marks a turn-around from last October, when the country agreed to more stringent inspections and signed the Additional Protocol. At the time, Iran also consented to the suspension of uranium enrichment activities. In return, Britain, France and Germany, promised to help develop technology for a civil atomic energy plant.

But last week, the European Union abandoned its policy of "constructive engagement," after the bloc's Big Three joined forces with the United States and decided to issue a deadline for Tehran to comply with international demands dispel concerns about nuclear activities.

"The EU calls on Iran to heed the content of the resolution adopted by IAEA's board of governors, in particular with regard to the necessity to suspend fully all its enrichment related activities," the head of the Dutch delegation told a meeting of members of the IAEA on behalf of the EU.

Tehran insists it abided by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and allowed spot inspections proving the intention behind its nuclear program was civilian in nature. Officials in Tehran also point out that the suspension of enrichment was not a legal requirement but a voluntary measure.

In November, the IAEA board of governors will meet to review Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program. The country has until then to answer all outstanding questions.