Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, that his country will not give up its right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful uses, according to reports reaching Moscow.

 

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev(R) talks with his visiting Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a press conference on August 22, 2007 in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan.

 

"We think that all peoples should develop nuclear technologies for peaceful purposes within (the framework of) the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)," Ahmadinejad told reporters on the sidelines of his two-day visit to the neighboring Caspian country.

 

He slammed the US-led drive to constrain Iran's nuclear program, saying those forces "have achieved nothing."

 

"They come against this under various pretexts and want to deprive our people of this right. They're using any means - economic, psychological and military pressure," Itar-Tass news agency quoted him as saying.

 

The US and other Western countries have accused Iran of trying to develop atomic weapons under a civilian cover, but Iran denies the accusation, saying it just wants to generate electricity.

 

On Tuesday, Iran and the IAEA agreed on a working plan to clarify outstanding ambiguities over Tehran's nuclear program.

 

Iran has blocked inspections from the IAEA to its nuclear sites since January this year after the UN Security Council imposed sanctions over the country's controversial nuclear program.

 

(Xinhua News Agency August 23, 2007)