Iran won't suspend nuclear work, official says

TEHRAN, Oct 2 (Reuters) Iran will not suspend uranium enrichment, as demanded by the West, but is still holding talks about the country's nuclear programme, the Iranian government spokesman said today.

The UN Security Council has threatened to impose sanctions on Iran if it fails to suspend enrichment, a process the West says Iran is seeking to use to make atomic bombs. Iran denies the charge.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana has been holding talks with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, to try to coax Iran into suspending enrichment. No deal has been reached but further talks are planned.

''Regarding the nuclear issue, (President Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad has expressed Iran's view. Talks still continue. Ahmadinejad has said that we will not accept suspension, and we haven't accepted it,'' spokesman Gholamhossein Elham told a news conference.

Ahmadinejad has insisted in recent speeches that Iran will not give up its right to nuclear technology despite pressure to suspend enrichment.

The president, although often Iran's most public voice, is not the most powerful figure under the Islamic Republic's system of clerical rule. The final say in state matters, including the nuclear file, lies with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

''What is related to the Iranian nation's obvious right, the government is obliged to preserve it, defend it and support it,'' Elham said.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Monday that Iran had said nothing so far to suggest it planned to suspend enrichment.

REUTERS SK BD2108