Iran won't back out: Prez tells West

Jakarta: Iran's President on Wednesday dismissed Western concerns over nuclear proliferation as ‘a big lie’ and vowed to keep pursuing nuclear technology, as Indonesia's leader offered to mediate in the escalating international dispute.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's offer is significant because Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation and enjoys good relations with Iran and the US, which is leading the charge to bring UN sanctions down on Iran if it refuses to compromise on its nuclear program.

Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told reporters after meeting Yudhoyono that his country will ''absolutely not back out'' from defending its right to pursue new technology, accusing the West of wanting to monopolize the nuclear technology market to secure profits.

"Today the people of Iran are not just defending their own rights, but also those of other nations," he said.

"They want to prevent other countries from reaching the pinnacle of science and technology."

He suggested that Israel, another Middle Eastern nation, was allowed to operate a clandestine nuclear weapons program, and that other countries continue to develop nuclear weapons systems.

"They pretend that they are concerned about the nature of the nuclear program of the Islamic Republic of Iran,'' he said. "This is a big lie."

Ahmadinejad is in Jakarta for a three-day state visit aimed at strengthening economic and political ties with Indonesia followed by a development conference of mostly Muslim nations on the resort island of Bali.

The fiery Iranian leader raised hopes of a breakthrough with the United States just days ago by sending a letter to President George W Bush, the first such letter to an American leader in 27 years.

But the letter was quickly dismissed by Washington.

Ahmadinejad said he was not ''disquieted'' by the reaction.

''If they choose not to answer our question, it depends on them,'' he said, adding that he felt it was the correct decision to send the letter.

Yudhoyono, speaking at a joint news conference after the two leaders met, said he believed Iran was willing to resolve the issue peacefully through further negotiations, and offered to help mediate.

''Hopefully, in this very critical issue we can cooperate well in reducing the tensions,'' he said.

Yudhoyono's spokesman said later that Iran was very receptive to Yudhoyono's offer, which he said was still at the ''embryonic'' stage.

''We need to breathe new life into the negotiations,'' said Dino Pati Djalal.

Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who met with Ahmadinejad later at his hotel, said ''Indonesia is convinced that the nuclear program being developed by Iran is for peaceful purposes.''

Yudhoyono also said he was hopeful Iran could continue dialogue with the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA.