Iran said today it would reject any proposal to drop uranium enrichment, a step European Union diplomats are proposing to end a row over whether Iran is seeking atomic weapons.
EU diplomats have said they are seeking US and Russian support for a deal that would ask Iran to give up uranium enrichment in return for technical and economic assistance.
"Any proposal which deprives Iran of its legitimate right to a fuel cycle is not acceptable," Mr Hossein Mousavian, Iran's head of foreign policy on the Supreme National Security Council, told state television.
However, he said he was not responding to a specific offer.
"We have not yet received the text of the proposal and have to see what it contains to assess it," he said.
Uranium, if enriched to a low level, can be used to fuel nuclear power stations such as the one Iran is building at the southern port of Bushehr.
If enriched further it can be used in nuclear warheads but Iran denies accusations by Washington that it has military nuclear ambitions and argues its atomic programme is solely dedicated to meeting booming demand for electricity.