Ahmadinejad dismisses response deadline

TEHRAN, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he doesn't recognize any deadlines for responding to nuclear negotiation offers.

Speaking to reporters Monday in Tehran, Ahmadinejad dismissed a mid-September deadline issued by six Western nations hoping to engage Iran in negotiations over its nuclear program before the Sept. 23 start of the next United Nations General Assembly, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Though he said he was open to televised "discussions and debates" about nuclear issues, the Times said he belittled Western threats of sanctions or war, saying, "The present approach will bring (the West) nothing. Iranians have learned their lessons well on how to live through crises and go unscathed. All crises will be turned into opportunities. The Iranian nation will never be harmed under any circumstances."

Meanwhile in Vienna, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohammed ElBaradei said nuclear negotiations with Iran were in a stalemate, calling on Tehran to be more open about its program, which Western powers believe is meant to produce a nuclear weapon.

"Iran's future intentions concerning its nuclear program need to be clarified to respond to the international community," ElBaradei said in prepared remarks to the IAEA board.