Iran head defiant on nuclear role

Mr Ahmadinejad says Iran does not need a bomb

The Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has again ruled out abandoning uranium enrichment.

In a series of interviews with British TV Mr Ahmadinejad asked why Iran should stop an activity in which the United States and the UK are also engaged.

He said Iran had no desire to build a nuclear bomb, claiming it would not be in its political interests.

He denied the suggestion that Iran is fuelling the insurgency in Iraq, calling it "ridiculous".

"Iran and Iraq are friends for thousands of years, they have a common culture... if Iraq is not secure we are the first country who would be damaged," he told ITV News.

US 'enmity'

In a separate interview with Channel 4 News Mr Ahmadinejad blamed diplomatic tensions on the US's attitude towards his country:

"The main problem is the enmity of America towards Iran. From the beginning we said that everything should be solved by the (International Atomic Energy) Agency. We do not need a bomb."

Asked whether he was ready to halt Iran's nuclear activities, he responded:

"Why should we stop it while America and Britain does not cut it?... Why shouldn't America's programmes be stopped but ours should?"

He claimed that the withdrawal of British troops from Basra signalled a split between London and Washington.

"We know there are differences between the Americans and British," he said.

"The British, when they moved out of Basra, it was a good gesture and we hope it continues. We are the country which gets damaged a lot from Iraqi insecurity."

Mr Ahmadinejad was speaking in Tehran after his chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, warned that Iran might suspend co-operation with the IAEA if the United Nations Security Council imposes more sanctions over its nuclear programme.

The UN Security Council has already imposed two rounds of sanctions over Iran's refusal to suspend uranium enrichment.