Larijani said Iran would not use oil as a weapon in the dispute

The defiance came ahead of the UN atomic watchdog meeting in Vienna that is expected to clear the way for possible action against Tehran over suspicions that it's  seeking nuclear weapons.

Ali Larijani, the Islamic republic's top nuclear negotiator, said on Sunday that Iran would not freeze small-scale nuclear fuel work even if referred to the world body.

"Going to the Security Council will certainly not make Iran go back on research and development," Larijani told reporters in Tehran, adding that the Islamic republic would retaliate to such a move by pressing ahead with full-scale uranium enrichment.

Enrichment right

Larijani said, however, that Iran was not intending to use oil as a weapon in the dispute or quit the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), but warned this could change if the crisis worsened.

Iran claims it has the right to enrich uranium for nuclear reactor fuel as part of a peaceful energy programme; but the United States and Europe fear it will use enriched uranium to make atom bombs.

The board of governors of the watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meets this week in Vienna to consider a report from the agency's chief Mohamed ElBaradei that says Iran is defying IAEA calls to halt enrichment and to cooperate fully with agency inspectors.

The issue is expected to come up on Tuesday or Wednesday.

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