Iran presidential election not to affect nuclear programs: official

A top Iranian nuclear official said that the upcoming presidential election will not affect Iran's policies on the nuclear issue, the official IRNA news agency reported on Tuesday.

"We reminded the Europeans during our talks in London at a meeting that results of Iran's presidential election would have no effects on the country's nuclear programs," Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, was quoted as saying.

Saeedi made the statement Monday at a conference of university students.

He added that the most conservative and extremist candidates of the election had emphasized that the nuclear technology was a national demand.

"Halting it (nuclear research) is beyond the powers of all candidates," Saeedi said.

Meanwhile, Saeedi noted that Iran was determined to resume some uranium enrichment activities soon, stressing that it was an irreversible decision.

"Basically, producing nuclear fuel is a right for us and suspension of uranium enrichment is denying us that right. That right is granted to us based on the articles of an international treaty," he said, referring to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

However, Saeedi pointed out that Iran will not resume its whole enrichment activities immediately and all together.

Iran, dissatisfied with the ongoing nuclear negotiations with the European Union (EU), has rejected Europe's proposal of delaying the talks after the presidential election on June 17.

Tehran said it could not tolerate the "prolonged talks".

Iran suspended uranium enrichment last November but claimed the suspension is a voluntary and revocable move.

Iran insists that it can not accept the EU demand for a permanent and complete halt of uranium enrichment.

The two sides have been engaged in talks since Iran's suspension and the latest round was held in London on April 29, a meeting as fruitless as before.

The United States has accused Iran of developing nuclear weapons, but Tehran categorically rejected the charge, saying its nuclear program was completely for peaceful purposes.