Iran vows won't cede 'an inch' in face of intimidation

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed Iran would not back down an "inch" in the face of intimidation as a UN deadline expired for Tehran to halt sensitive nuclear operations. "Iran will not back down an inch in the face of intimidation, aggression and will not accept being deprived of its rights," Ahmadinejad said in a speech in Orumiyeh, the provincial capital of West Azarbaijan province. "The powers of oppression do not want Iran to progress. But I say to them: The Iranian people, including young scientists who have succeeded with empty hands and without your help to reach the summits of nuclear technology, can also develop Iran." Ahmadinejad's defiant message came on the day a UN deadline expired for Iran to halt uranium enrichment work or face possible UN sanctions. Tehran has made clear it has no intention of renouncing the sensitive atomic activity.