Defiant Ahmadinejad says no Iran concessions in nuclear crisis

Tehran: Iran will not bow to pressure on the nuclear issue, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday.

“The Iranian people are steadfast and will not step back an inch against the oppressive powers," Ahmadinejad told a rally in the southwestern province of Kohgelouyeh-Boyerahmad.

His defiant comments come after world powers warned Iran has only a fortnight to respond to their latest offer seeking to end a five-year crisis that has raised fears of regional conflict and sent oil prices spiralling.

World powers have offered to start pre-negotiations during which Tehran would add no more uranium-enriching centrifuges and in return face no further sanctions - the so-called "freeze-for-freeze" approach.

Iran is under three sets of UN Security Council sanctions over its refusal to halt sensitive uranium enrichment work, which the West fears could be aimed at making nuclear weapons.