Ahmadinejad: Iran will produce its uranium

TEHRAN, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Iran will fuel its defiance of world powers by producing high-grade uranium for its nuclear program, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said.

Ahmadinejad, speaking in Isfahan, said Iran would produce 20 percent, high-grade uranium for its nuclear needs without outside help, Voice of America reported Wednesday.

He said Iran's requests to western nations for highly enriched uranium were used "to pressure us," and that the International Atomic Energy Agency was obligated to provide the fuel because Iran's nuclear program was for peaceful purposes.

Ahmadinejad said he wasn't concerned about a possible military action against Iran's nuclear facilities, despite talk of a possible strike by Israel, insisting, "neither Israel nor its backers can stop it (the country's nuclear program)."

During his remarks, Ahmadinejad also expressed disappointment with U.S. President Barack Obama, saying he wasn't happy about the direction dialogue between the two countries was taking.

More sanctions by the United Nations would be useless, Ahmadinejad said, because "it is impossible to isolate a country like Iran in (today's) multi-polar world."