“The Europeans should know that Iran will not make any concessions over its nuclear programmes and is prepared to face whatever threats the Europeans have in mind,” Mehr news agency quoted Mohammad Saaidi as saying.

He reiterated that the uranium conversion plant in Isfahan in central Iran was under the full surveillance of the IAEA with no grounds for any worry of misuse.

The suspension of uranium processing at Isfahan was a central condition to Iran’s talks with the European Union trio of Germany, France and Britain, otherwise the Iran case would be referred to the United Nations Security Council where the Islamic state could face sanctions.

Saaidi said that as far as technical aspects are concerned, all ambiguities, including nuclear pollution in Iranian plants, have been clarified in the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the peaceful nature of the nuclear projects confirmed.

He termed the other parts of the report by IAEA chief Mohammad ElBaradei as politically motivated and irrelevant to the IAEA’s jurisdiction.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Assefi said on Sunday Iran would not return to the nuclear suspension stage any more and not pay any attention “to whatever threats”.

Assefi said that the IAEA was only authorised to act in line with the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and evaluate the Iran case from a technical and not a political angle.

The IAEA confirmed on Friday in a 15-page report that Iran resumed uranium conversion at the Isfahan plant last month and has failed to clarify certain issues surrounding the country’s nuclear programme after two-and-a-half years of inspections in Iran.