President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today declared that the world would not stop Iran's atomic programme after France argued for stiffer sanctions against Tehran.
French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner sent a letter to his European Union counterparts yesterday urging wider financial sanctions against Iran, saying the UN's attempts to halt Iran's nuclear ambitions could prove ineffective.
Iran summoned France's charge d'affaires in Tehran afterwards to protest about the "extreme" remarks.
Today the official IRNA news agency quoted Mr Ahmadinejad saying: "I announce to the whole world that the Iranian nation has passed the difficult points [on its nuclear path] and no power can stop this nation from making more and more achievements."
Six world powers agreed on Friday to delay toughening UN sanctions against Tehran over its failure to comply with international agreements on nuclear inspections.
It was decided to wait until November at the earliest pending reports by nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei and European Union negotiator Javier Solana.
Tehran insists its nuclear programme is for generating electricity but the UN Security Council has twice voted for sanctions after Iran failed to suspend sensitive activities such as uranium enrichment.
