Reuters, September 18, 2008 (excerpts) – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday Iran would not halt sensitive nuclear work the West suspects is aimed at making bombs and brushed aside threats of more sanctions.

Ahmadinejad made clear Iran, had no plans to back down in the dispute.

“Whatever they do, Iran will continue its activities. Sanctions are not important,” he said. “The era of (uranium enrichment) suspension has ended.”

The United States, Britain and France this week vowed to seek harsher sanctions on Tehran over its defiance of U.N. demands for full disclosure and a halt to enrichment, which can have both civilian and military purposes.

Their calls came after the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency said in a report on Monday that Iranian stonewalling had brought to a standstill its investigation into whether Iran had covertly researched ways to make an atom bomb.