Ayatollah vows Iranian nuclear work will go on

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran will not bow to Western pressure and stop its nuclear program, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday.

"Iran is not after nuclear weapons. It is after peacefully using nuclear energy ... we will follow this path and ... will reach it," Khamenei said in a speech broadcast live on state television.

"No wise nation" is interested in nuclear weapons, he said.

He spoke at a ceremony today honoring the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic republic. Khamenei has the final say on all matters in the country.

U.N. demands 'full disclosure'
The chief of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Mohamed ElBaradei, said on Monday Iran seemed to be holding back information needed to clarify intelligence reports that it researched nuclear bombs in secret and he demanded "full disclosure" by Tehran.

Iran has rejected the intelligence as baseless, forged or irrelevant.

"Today no logical person or officials go after nuclear weapons. The Iranian nation oppose these kind of weapons," Khamenei said in the speech to mark the 19th anniversary of the death of late revolutionary leader.

"Nuclear weapons do not bring a nation any power because it cannot be used," he told the crowd that had gathered at the shrine where Khomeini is buried near the capital Tehran.

Enriched uranium can be used as fuel for power plants or, if refined much further, provide material for bombs.

The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia — as well as Germany agreed on their updated offer last month but have yet to present it to Tehran.

Diplomats say it is similar to one in 2006 that was rejected by Iran but that it goes into more depth, particularly on civil nuclear cooperation. That offer included civil nuclear cooperation and wider trade in civil aircraft, energy, high technology and agriculture if Tehran suspended enrichment.

More from msnbc.com How smart are you? Take our weekly quiz Red Tape: Credit card firms' new squeeze World Blog: Anger and hatred on Urumqi streets Elkhart Project Blog: Making sure health care isn't a casualty Local governments face painful budget choices

MORE FROM ELECTION IN IRAN

Election in Iran Section Front

Iranian police break up defiant protests Popular Tehran Bureau site covers Iran from Mass. Analysis: Hopes fading for Iran nuke talks Newsweek: Iran protests echo Polish movement Newsweek: Why Iran isn't like Europe in 1989 Newsweek: How Iran's election is playing in Iraq Newsweek: Why Arab rulers see threats in Iran protests Iran's women protest: Headscarves, rocks Newsweek: Should we watch video of Neda dying? Newsweek: Was there election fraud in Iran? Election in Iran Section Front   Add Election in Iran headlines to your news reader: