Iran's president says his country will not yield to pressure in the standoff over Tehran's nuclear activities.
In a televised speech Tuesday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran is willing to resolve the nuclear issue through negotiations. He said Iran will reply on August 22 to a package of Western economic incentives offered in exchange for a suspension of uranium enrichment.
Iranian officials have said repeatedly that they will not halt nuclear enrichment, despite an August 31 deadline set by the United Nations Security Council. The Council has said if Iran does not halt uranium enrichment, it will consider sanctions.
Iran maintains it has a right to enrich uranium.
Separately, an influential Iranian cleric has warned that Iranian missiles will land in Tel Aviv if Israel and the U.S. attack Iran.
Ahmad Khatami told state television Tuesday that Israel should fear the day when Iranian missiles land in Tel Aviv. The cleric sits on the Assembly of Experts, a supervisory body to Iran's government.
Iran's Shahab-3 missiles have a range of 2,000 kilometers and can reach Tel Aviv and American military installations in the Middle East.
The U.S. and other Western nations fear Iran is seeking to build nuclear weapons, a charge that Tehran denies.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
