Iranian Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on Tuesday rejected a recent statement by US President George W. Bush over Iran's nuclear file, the official IRNA news agency reported.

"Iran is certainly entitled to have access to nuclear technology," said Rafsanjani, referring to Bush's remarks that Iran does not need nuclear energy given its plenty of oil reserves.

"A lot of countries in the world make use of nuclear energy today," Rafsanjani said, adding "even the United States had plenty of oil when it launched its nuclear activity."

The United States, accusing Iran of secretly developing atomic weapons for years, has been consistently trying to prompt a referral of Iran's nuclear case to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions on the Islamic republic.

Tehran denies the US accusation, insisting that its right to get access to peaceful nuclear technology be natural.

Last month, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) adopted a resolution on Iran's nuclear program, urging the country to suspend all uranium enrichment-related activities and fully cooperate with inspectors to clear up related issues.

Source: Xinhua