TEHRAN, March 9 (RIA Novosti) - Iran will review its relations with countries that fail to abide by international norms and stand in the way of the country's legal right to pursue peaceful nuclear research, the president said Thursday.
"From the very beginning, the West has been against scientific progress and economic growth in our country," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said. "They do not want to see our young generation gain access to nuclear fuel technology."
The president's statement came in response to Western pressure on the country to abandon the nuclear research it resumed after a two-year hiatus, as many nations in the West suspect Tehran of pursuing a clandestine nuclear weapons program.
Ahmadinejad said the Iranian government was doing its best to defend Iranian people's right to peaceful nuclear technologies, despite "political pressure, propaganda and psychological warfare."
The president said the Islamic Republic was pursuing nuclear research for energy within the remit of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN's nuclear watchdog.
On Wednesday, the IAEA decided to refer Iran's "nuclear file" to the UN Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions on Tehran if it is found to be in breach of its international commitments.
