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Ahmadinejad says Western pressure empowers Iran

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-11-16 16:56

TEHRAN: The Iranian president says an impasse in nuclear talks between world powers and Iran would only hurt the West by making Tehran push harder to advance its technology.

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Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says nuclear cooperation is in the West's interest and pressures on Iran would only make the country "more powerful and advanced."

The remarks were posted late Sunday on the presidential Web site.

They come after President Barack Obama said Iran is running out of time to agree a UN-brokered plan to ship its low-enriched enriched uranium out of the country for further processing.

Ahmadinejad didn't elaborate, but his comments can be seen as a veiled threat that Iran would go ahead with enriching uranium to a higher level should nuclear talks fail.