President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Friday Iran should not show weakness over its nuclear program, after Tehran ignored a U.N. deadline to stop nuclear work which the West says will be used to make atom bombs.
The U.N. Security Council had given Iran till February 21 to halt uranium enrichment, a process that can make fuel for power plants or material for warheads.
The U.N. watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency said on Thursday Iran had not heeded the demand.
The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany will meet in London next week to discuss possible further steps in addition to U.N. sanctions barring the transfer of nuclear technology and know-how that were imposed in December.
"If we show weakness in front of the enemy the expectations will increase but if we stand against them, because of this resistance, they will retreat," he said in a speech in northern Iran, Iran's ISNA news agency reported.
The president said in the past, when Iran has compromised over a nuclear program it insists has only peaceful aims, the West had simply increased its demands.
Ahmadinejad is not the highest authority in the Islamic Republic, but his comments echo those of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say and who has previously said Iran would press ahead with its nuclear ambitions.
"The enemies became so impudent that they want us to completely follow those rules that they did not accept themselves and definitely will not carry out," Ahmadinejad said.
STEPPING UP PRESSURE
Iran previously suspended uranium enrichment under an agreement with the European Union but which broke down in 2005. The president said earlier this week Iran would only halt its nuclear fuel work if those making such demands did too.
The United States, which dismissed that Iranian offer, has stepped up pressure on Iran to stop its atomic work by slapping U.S. sanctions on two big Iranian state banks and three companies it says are associated with proliferation.
It has also deployed a second aircraft carrier to the Gulf with supporting warships, a move widely seen as a warning to Iran. Washington insists it wants a diplomatic solution and does not want war, but has not ruled out force if necessary.
The IAEA report on Thursday said Iran had installed two cascades, or networks, of 164 centrifuges in its underground Natanz enrichment plant with another two cascades close to completion. Centrifuges spin at high speeds to enrich uranium.
Additional penalties Iran might face for ignoring the U.N. demand include a travel ban on senior Iranian officials and restrictions on non-nuclear business.
Analysts say harsher sanctions could face serious obstacles, as Russia, China and some EU powers prefer further dialogue with Iran to Washington's push to isolate and punish.
Copyright 2006 Reuters.
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