Iran still defiant as nuclear deadline expires

Iran still defiant as nuclear deadline expires
POSTED: 1518 GMT (2318 HKT), February 21, 2007

VIENNA, Austria (Reuters) -- Iran vowed on Wednesday to press on with its nuclear fuel program, ignoring a U.N. deadline to freeze uranium enrichment or face broader sanctions.

However, the Islamic republic offered to guarantee it would not try to develop atomic weapons.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad remained defiant, even as a 60-day grace period -- that Iran had been given December 23 to stop enriching uranium for nuclear fuel -- was expiring.

Iran "will continue our work to reach our right (to nuclear technology) in the shortest possible time," student news agency ISNA quoted Ahmadinejad as saying in the town of Siahkal.

With the deadline running out, the International Atomic Energy Agency, which has been unable to verify Iran's program is wholly peaceful after three years of investigations, was expected to report to the U.N. Security Council by Thursday that Tehran was pursuing enrichment regardless of pressure to stop.

The West suspects Iran is trying to make atom bombs behind the facade of a civilian nuclear energy program. Tehran says it wants only an alternative source of electricity so it can maximize oil exports and prepare for when oil reserves run dry.

"Obtaining this technology is very important for our country's development and honor," Ahmadinejad said. "It is worth it to stop other activities for 10 years and focus only on the nuclear issue."

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