Iran says it will not halt work on its nuclear activities in exchange for incentives offered by the West.
An Iranian spokesman told reporters Saturday that Tehran does not trade its rights in return for incentives.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also said he will reject any incentives to suspend his country's uranium enrichment activities. In an interview published Friday, he told a Japanese news agency that Iran has no reason to give up nuclear technology.
The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council have reportedly been working on a package of incentives to entice Iran to freeze its uranium enrichment work and hold talks.
The Council has passed three sets of sanctions on Iran for its refusal to stop enriching uranium, a process that can be used to make nuclear weapons.
The United States and its Western allies accuse Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons. Iran says its atomic program is for peaceful purposes.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
