( VOA News ) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says U.N. sanctions resolutions will not prevent Tehran from pursuing its nuclear program.
Mr. Ahmadinejad told Iranian state television Wednesday that even as many as 300 resolutions will not halt Iran's atomic activities. He said Iran's nuclear program is legal, and that it will not give in to Western demands.
He also said Tehran has several thousand spinning centrifuges, which can be used to enrich uranium.
The U.N. Security Council has imposed two sets of sanctions on Iran because of its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment.
Meanwhile, a Russian government news agency says a nuclear plant being built for Iran will not become operational before September 2008 at the earliest.
The RIA-Novosti report says the Bushehr power plant is at least one year behind its original schedule because of payment disputes with Iran.
Iran says the plant could be operational in September of this year. Bushehr is Iran's first nuclear power plant.
Enriched uranium and plutonium can be used to build nuclear weapons.
The United States and its Western allies accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons, but Iran says its atomic program is for peaceful purposes.