Ahmadinejad defiant before UN atomic meeting

Tehran, July 18: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said today his country had every right to produce atomic fuel, showing no sign of backing down on nuclear work before a UN Security Council meeting.

Diplomats have said the world body will meet this week to draft a resolution demanding Iran end sensitive nuclear work which the West fears could be used to make bombs.

''Having a nuclear fuel cycle is the Iranian nation's obvious right,'' Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency, repeating Tehran only sought a fuel cycle to build power stations.

The UN Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions, will decide what action to take after Iran took too long to respond to a package of incentives from six world powers that wanted it to stop enriching uranium.

The United States, France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China had wanted Iran to allay fears it was building weapons by offering a package of commercial and technical incentives to the Islamic Republic.

However, Iran said it would not reply until August. 22, precipitating calls for UN action.

Reuters