Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday that Iran would continue on its nuclear path even if the whole world stands up to it, Iran´s state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Speaking at an event marking the country´s "Nuclear Technology Day," Ahmadinejad said Iran would defend its dignity and not bow to enemy pressure, IRNA reported.

He added that "enemies" should not think assassinating nuclear scientists would block its nuclear progress.

With critical talks on the Iranian nuclear program set to begin Friday, Tehran already rejected two key demands on Sunday by the world’s powers: Closing the Fordow underground uranium enrichment facility near Qom and stopping the enrichment of uranium to 20 percent.

Fereydoon Abbasi Davani, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Agency, called the Western diplomats’ demands “irrational,” according to AFP.

AFP quoted Davani as saying in an interview with the Iranian ISNA news agency that the Fordow facility had to be built underground because of the West’s threats to attack the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities.

“If they do not threaten us and guarantee that no aggression will occur, then there would be no need for countries to build facilities underground. They should change their behavior and language,” he said.

Davani added that Iran would continue to produce uranium enriched to 20%, but not “more than we need, because it is not in our benefit to produce it and keep it.”

Herb Keinon and Yaakov Katz contributed to this report. (© 1995-2011, The Jerusalem Post 04/09/12)