Iran will not give up atomic work, says president

TEHRAN, Sep 27 (Reuters) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said today that Tehran would not suspend nuclear enrichment despite pressure from the West, the semi-official Mehr news agency said.

Western nations have said Iran must suspend enrichment, a process that can be used to make fuel for power stations or material for atomic bombs, to start negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme.

''Today, Western countries want us to suspend our nuclear technology, but we say to them that we will never give it up,'' the president was quoted as telling a seminar in Tehran.

''If the Western countries want to continue in this way, the Islamic Republic of Iran will show off its capabilities in other fields too,'' he added without elaborating.

The Washington Times said this week Iran was close to a deal that would include a temporary, 90-day suspension of enrichment and clear the way for talks on a package of incentives offered by six world powers. Iran has dismissed the report.

Although the president has been a vociferous opponent of compromise with the West, the final say in all matters of state, including the nuclear file, lies with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Iran's system of clerical rule.

REUTERS BDP RK2115