"With the help of God, the Iranian nation with its unity, faith and determination stood and defeated the world powers and brought them to their knees," he told a rally in the southern city of Bandar Abbas broadcast on state television.

"World powers should know the Iranian nation considers nuclear energy its undeniable and definite right and will not accept any imposition or any additional cruel rules," he added.

Ahmadinejad's comments are the latest indication Iran has no intention of ceding to the main demand of world powers that it suspends uranium enrichment operations, which the West fears could be used to make nuclear weapons.

The speech came ahead of a key report later this month by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei which is to give details on Iran's cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog.

Iran's refusal to halt enrichment has already seen it slapped with two sets of UN Security Council sanctions and the United States is pressing the body to agree a third package of measures.

However it appears that Iran, which insists the atomic drive is entirely peaceful, has been accelerating its nuclear programme despite the international pressure.

Dipolomats at IAEA headquarters in Vienna said Iran is pushing ahead with tests of more advanced P2 centrifuges, which are more efficient than the P1 or first-generation machines used until now at Iran's nuclear facility in Natanz.

"Until the end, the people's slogan will be one thing: nuclear energy is our undeniable right," said Ahmadinejad to cheers from the crowd. He reaffirmed his belief that Iran's nuclear case was closed.

He warned world powers: "If you come up with a new game... you will be facing this same nation," said Ahmadinejad.

All rights reserved. © 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.