"The enemies of our country clearly understand that their efforts will not influence the will of the Iranian people," he said. "We must stand firm and use any opportunity to develop Iran."
Ahmadinejad said that even if the country's enemies "close all the doors in front of Iran," the country would still seek scientific progress. "Regarding Iran's nuclear program, our enemies have not been able to hinder the progress of the Iranian nation and will never be able to do so," he said.
Iran is currently under three sets of relatively mild UN Security Council sanctions for defying demands to halt its nuclear program, which it says it needs purely for electricity generation despite Western allegations it is geared toward weapon production.
Washington has threatened to use force if Iran continues on its current path and refuses to give up uranium enrichment.
Ahmadinejad called the U.S. military presence in the Middle East "a kind of suicide."
"However, in order to be able to hinder our progress, the Americans have shown they are willing to subject themselves to that danger," he said.
Russia, which is building a nuclear power plant in the country's southwestern city of Bushehr, maintains the Islamic Republic had a right to peaceful nuclear energy.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN's nuclear watchdog, has been investigating Iran's nuclear activity for more than five years but so far has been unable to determine whether its nuclear program has military ramifications.
