Iran has been at the center of international concerns over its nuclear program, which some countries, particularly the United States, suspect is geared toward nuclear weapons development. Tehran has consistently denied the claims, saying it needs nuclear power for civilian purposes.
"The world should know that today Iran has become one of the countries that had mastered industrial-scale production of nuclear fuel, and we intend to exercise our rights in the nuclear sphere in full," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the residents of the Kerman province.
He said mastering civilian nuclear power is a goal supported by all Iranians, and that they will not give up their legitimate rights.
The UN Security Council voted unanimously March 24 to impose broader sanctions against the Islamic Republic for its refusal to halt uranium enrichment, which the country resumed in January 2006 for what it claims to be a civilian nuclear power generating program.
