President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the faithful in a speech at Tehran University that there was no question of Iran suspending uranium enrichment activities, which the West fears could be used to make a nuclear weapon.

“The Iranian people are not ready to sit around a table and discuss their absolute nuclear rights. They (world powers) have to know this,” Ahmadinejad said.

“We are no longer prepared to be active in the political scene to argue about Iran’s right to nuclear energy.”

The trigger
His defiant comments came after France called for EU sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear programme and amid US efforts for a third UN Security Council resolution imposing sanctions against the Islamic republic.

Ahmadinejad, however, reaffirmed his stance that he now considers Iran’s nuclear case to be “closed” owing to its intensified cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“Right now, from our perspective, the case is closed. The fact the great powers are screaming tells us the case is closed. It is a great victory for the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

“They (the world powers) have been defeated on the nuclear issue and now they are trying to create problems for Iran in other areas,” he added.

Iran has agreed a timetable with the UN nuclear watchdog for it to answer outstanding questions over its nuclear programme to allow the agency to bring a four year investigation to a close.