Ahmadinejad says nuclear rights are non-negotiable

Tehran: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday ruled out negotiations over Iran's nuclear rights and vowed again not to back down one iota in the standoff, the state news agency Irna said.

"The Iranian nation will never talk to anyone over its inalienable rights and it will never back down one iota, even for a second, on its legal rights," he said in the southern town of Rafsanjan, in Kerman province.

"We welcome honest talks but nobody is allowed to sit at a negotiating table with Iranians' definitive rights on the agenda," he said.

In Vienna, a standoff pitting Iran against most other delegations at a 130-nation nuclear conference deepened yesterday, with organisers adjourning the third session without breaking a deadlock over the language of the meeting's agenda.

At issue is Tehran's refusal to accept a phrase calling for the 'need for full compliance with' the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.