Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad marked the 28th anniversary of Iran's revolution today pledging to pursue the country's nuclear programme but stopping short of announcing any fresh nuclear moves.
Mr Ahmadinejad, under pressure at home to tone down a confrontation with the west, ruled out a UN demand to suspend uranium enrichment while also saying he wanted to remain within international rules.
Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, was expected to meet European Union officials today in Germany. Some Western diplomats have said a small group of European nations are weighing a compromise proposal to try to end the standoff.
Iran has until February 21st to halt uranium enrichment, a process that can make fuel for power stations or, if greatly enriched, material for warheads. A UN sanctions resolution passed in December threatened further measures if Iran refuses.
"We are ready for talks but will not suspend our activities," Mr Ahmadinejad told hundreds of thousands of Iranians in Tehran's Azadi square to mark the 1979 Islamic revolution, saying suspension would be "humiliation".
"The Iranian nation is interested in continuing its nuclear activities in the framework of the (International Atomic Energy) Agency's regulations and treaties," he said.
But he said Iran would announce "great" achievements in the days up to April 9th, "especially nuclear" developments. Despite Western accusations that Iran wants atomic weapons, the president repeated Iran's assertion that its plans are peaceful.
Mr Ahmadinejad's promise to celebrate what he calls Iran's nuclear rights during today's events had prompted talk that the anti-Western president might say it had begun installing 3,000 centrifuges at its Natanz uranium enrichment plant.
Prior to the speech, a senior Iranian official had told Reuters no such announcement would be made that would provoke the West. Pragmatist voices, increasingly prominent in Iran's ruling elite, have been counselling a more cautious approach in Iran since the UN sanctions were imposed.
Iran already operates two experimental cascades, each of 164 centrifuges at its Natanz facility. Western diplomats say Iran has also set up an additional two cascades in an underground section of the facility, the first stage towards building thousands for what Iran calls "industrial-scale" enrichment.