"If they keep on behaving like this, it is obvious that our capacity to compromise will decrease and we will act more independently," Rafsanjani was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA.

He was referring to efforts by the three main European Union powers -- Britain, France and Germany -- to pass a resolution at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) seeking to limit Iran's nuclear activities.

"Our aim is to achieve our rights," Rafsanjani said, adding that "those who stand against us now will have to step back within a couple of months."

For the past year the EU's so-called "big three" have been trying to convince Iran to give up dual-use activities in the nuclear fuel cycle.

The process of mining uranium, converting and then enriching it is legal under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as long as it is for fuel for reactors.

But once mastered, the fuel cycle can also provide Iran with the "option" of developing a nuclear bomb. Iran denies accusations it is trying to develop such an arsenal and says it is determined to master the full cycle to provide its own fuel for a planned atomic energy programme.

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