Iranian speaker vows to defend nuclear right

Iranian Majlis (Parliament) Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel said Sunday that defending Iran's nuclear right is tantamount to defending the country's independence, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Adel said the nuclear issue has been used by Iran's "enemies" to launch "propaganda campaign" against Iran to prepare ground for their interference in Iran's internal affairs.

Stressing the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program, the speaker said Iran was ready to cooperate with all international organizations in supervising its nuclear activities.

The parliament, angry at slow progress of nuclear talks with the European Union, approved a bill on Sunday to press the government to resume uranium enrichment activities, which Tehran suspended last November.

Washington and the EU have threatened to refer Iran's case to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions if Iran restarts enrichment-related work.

The EU powers France, Britain and Germany have tried to persuade Iran to abandon its uranium enrichment program in return for economic and political incentives.

The EU shared Washington's suspicions that Iran's uranium enrichment program could be used to make nuclear weapons.

Tehran claims its nuclear program is intended only for producing fuel for power plant and it will never give up its legitimate rights to own nuclear technology.