Ahmadinejad says Iran won't give up atomic rights

ARAK, Iran, Aug 26 (Reuters) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today said no one could deprive Iran of its right to nuclear technology, voicing fresh defiance days ahead of a UN deadline for Iran to halt uranium enrichment work.

''No one can deprive a nation of its rights based on its capabilities,'' he said in a speech to inaugurate a new phase of Iran's heavy-water reactor project southwest of Tehran.

''Iran is not a threat to anybody, not even to the Zionist regime,'' he said, using Iran's term for its arch-enemy srael, which the Islamic Republic does not recognise.

REUTERS DKA RAI1840