TEHRAN, March 12 (UPI) -- Tehran Saturday rejected Washington's willingness to offer economic incentives if the Islamic state gives up its nuclear program, the BBC reported.
"No pressure, bribe or threat can make Iran give up its legitimate right" to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, an Iranian spokesman said Saturday.
President Bush, in a fresh bid to cooperate with European diplomatic initiatives, announced Friday he was lifting a decade-long block on Iran's membership of the World Trade Organization and objections to Tehran obtaining parts for its commercial Boeing passenger jets, the BBC said Saturday.
Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons, but temporarily suspended uranium enrichment activity after negotiations with France, Germany and Britain.
The United States and the European Union want that suspension made permanent and they have threatened to seek United Nations sanctions if Iran does not comply.
