Iran: No backing down on nuclear program

TEHRAN, April 24 (UPI) -- The president of Iran said Tuesday his country will not give in to Western pressure to suspend its uranium enrichment program.

"What is important in this suspension that makes them (the West) so much tough about, insisting that Iran suspend it even for one month?" Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in an interview with Alalam.

"Ask them ... if this is a legal issue? It is not legal since it is neither (in) the charter of the (International Atomic Energy) Agency nor the agency's Non-Proliferation Treaty nor the related treaties.

"This is a political thing and, having said that, what is the aim behind it?" Ahmadinejad said to Alalam.

The Iranian president defended Iran's nuclear program before talks between his country's top nuclear negotiator and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

Iranian government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham told the Iranian news agency IRNA that Iran sees "no reason for negotiation" if the European Union continues to insist that Teheran suspend its uranium enrichment.

"We are seeking legitimate technology which cannot be stopped or turned back," the spokesman said.

Western nations suspect Iran's uranium enrichment activities are geared toward a nuclear weapons program, although Iran insists they are for power production.