TEHRAN, January 31 (RIA Novosti) - A senior official from Iran involved in the negotiations on its nuclear programs said Tuesday it would go ahead with its nuclear research despite the demands of Western nations.

Javad Vaeedi, the deputy head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told the country's state television that Iran had the legal right to pursue nuclear research, which he described as "irreversible".

However, Vaeedi added that Iran was still open for productive dialogue with the European Union on the issue.

Gholam Reza Aghazadeh, the president of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, told Iran's ISNA news agency that he hoped for a diplomatic resolution to the problem. However, he said that there was no legal ground for referring Iran's nuclear file to the UN Security Council, and added that the European Union would encounter serious difficulties when deciding on the referral.

Iran's decision to resume uranium enrichment research to generate energy - as it has consistently maintained - aroused suspicions earlier this month in the West and Israel that Tehran might be pursuing a secret weapons program. These countries have been pushing the referral of the Iranian nuclear file to the UN Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

On Monday, the United States, China, Russia, and the EU trio of Britain, France and Germany gathered in London and decided in favor of the referral, which they said could take place in March.