Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said his country will not retreat "one iota" on its nuclear programme. He was speaking after meeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is on a two-day visit to Tehran. The meeting coincided with an informal deadline set by Western officials in a dispute over Tehran's uranium enrichment plans. Mr Assad had promised France he would use his ties with Iran to help resolve its nuclear stand-off with the West. In a statement published on the Iranian president's website, Mr Ahmadinejad said: "In whichever negotiation we take part... it is unequivocally with the view to the realisation of Iran's nuclear right, and the Iranian nation would not retreat one iota from its rights."
He said that international agreements meant Iran, like every other country, had the right to engage in uranium enrichment and possess nuclear power stations.