Iran says wants to stay within nuclear rules

By Parisa Hafezi

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad marked the 28th anniversary of Iran's revolution on Sunday pledging to pursue the country's nuclear program but announcing no new atomic work that would have riled the West.

Ahmadinejad, under pressure at home to tone down speeches his critics say have helped push Iran toward international isolation, said he would keep within international regulations but still ruled out a UN demand to suspend uranium enrichment.

Iran has until February 21 to halt uranium enrichment, a process that can make fuel for power stations or, if greatly enriched, material for warheads. A UN sanctions resolution passed in December threatened further measures if Iran refuses.

"We are ready for talks but will not suspend our activities," Ahmadinejad told hundreds of thousands of Iranians in Tehran's Azadi (Freedom) square to mark the 1979 Islamic revolution, saying suspension would be "humiliation".

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, met European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana in Munich in Germany on Sunday to discuss the row. Solana said after the meeting no deal had been reached but possible solutions were being explored.

The United States, which has stepped up pressure on Iran by sending a second aircraft carrier to the Gulf, has been adamant it would not accept anything short of full suspension.

In Washington, a White House spokeswoman said the United States was ready to talk to the Iranians "for the first time in 28 years" if Tehran suspended enrichment activity.

"But unfortunately, we didn't hear anything today that leads us to believe Iran is going to take the steps expected of them," Christie Parell said when asked about Ahmadinejad's speech.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy also said the international community's demand was "exceedingly clear".

"(Iran) can accept what the international community has said and suspend its sensitive nuclear activities and then we would be ready to suspend our sanctions in the United Nations Security Council," he told French radio.

Ahmadinejad said Iran would work within the "regulations and treaties" of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

He also told demonstrators waving banners saying "Nuclear energy is our obvious right" that Iran would announce "great" achievements in the days up to April 9, "especially nuclear" developments. He insisted Iran's atomic work was peaceful.

The final say in Iran lies with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has also vowed not to give up Iran's peaceful atomic ambitions.

CONCESSIONS

Solana said Larijani would continue talks with other Western politicians on Sunday. "We will try to see if we can recuperate a sense of dialogue and find any possible solutions," he said.