“The President of Islamic Republic of Iran intends to attend a UN Security Council meeting, to be held on Iran’s nuclear case, in order to defend the rights of the Iranian nation in exploiting peaceful nuclear energy,” the state television quoted Iranian government spokesperson Gholam Hossein Elham as saying.

The report did not elaborate when Ahmadinejad planned to attend a meeting and if he had even been invited by the Security Council.

The state television report comes days after the UN nuclear watchdog — the International Atomic Energy Agency —suspended nearly two dozen nuclear aid programmes to Iran in a move that could affect Tehran’s cooperation with the agency.

Delegates to the meeting of the IAEA approved the punitive measure against Iran as part of the UN sanctions imposed because of the country’s repeated refusal to roll back its nuclear programme.

The UN Security Council in December imposed limited sanctions against Iran over its refusal to freeze uranium enrichment. The five Security Council members, plus Germany, are now consulting on imposing additional sanctions because Tehran has continued to defy demands that it stop nuclear enrichment.

The proposals include a travel ban, an expanded list of people and companies subject to an asset freeze, an arms embargo and trade restrictions.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful and aimed at producing energy, but the US and European countries are concerned that the real aim is to produce nuclear weapons. Enriched to a low level, uranium is used to produce nuclear fuel. Further enrichment makes it suitable for making an atomic bomb.

-NASSER KARIMI