Iran not to yield to pressures over nuke issue

TEHRAN - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday that Iran has always been ready for the talks over its nuclear issue, but it will not yield to Western pressures to quit its rights.

Ahmadinejad made the remarks addressing a large crowd of people gathered at Tehran's Azadi (liberty) Square on the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic republic.

"We have always been ready for (nuclear) talks within the framework of justice and respect" said the Iranian President, adding that, however, "I clearly announce that if you (Westerners) talk in the language of coercion and disrespect (with Iranians), the Iranian nation will never surrender to you" over its nuclear rights.

"The only way you need to observe is to respect the rights of Iranian nation and to come to the negotiation table," said Ahmadinejad.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi said Iran would not give in to any threat by the Western countries over its nuclear program since it has taken the proper precautions to counter every possible scenario, the local satellite Press TV reported on Saturday.

"Our nation should know that the Islamic Republic of Iran takes these threats seriously and we are prepared in every respect and have plans for the worst case scenarios. But we know that nothing will happen," Salehi was quoted as saying on Friday.

Salehi said Iran will announce new nuclear achievements in the coming weeks, stressing the importance of confidence building between the West and Iran over Tehran's atomic case, said the report.

"They should trust us and we will take the required measures within the framework of our nuclear safeguards," he said.

Salehi said Friday that it is possible that nuclear talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany (G5+1) are to be held in the near future.

On Saturday, the Iranian president hailed Iran's achievements in diverse scientific areas including space technology and medicine and called as "successful" Iran's economic programs in the past years.  

He also said that Iran will announce new "big" nuclear achievements in the following days.

"In the following days, the world will witness the inauguration of several big achievements in nuclear fields," he said.

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians carrying flags and banners in support of the Islamic regime celebrated nationwide the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic revolution on Saturday.

State television showed Iranians in the capital Tehran and other cities swarmed the streets and were carrying images of the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Seyyed Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini, and his successor, incumbent leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

Chanting anti-US and anti-Israel slogans, people in Tehran swarmed the Azadi Square and nearby areas to mark the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic revolution.

The 1979 revolution ended with the toppling of the US-backed regime of Shah.