Iran's president-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed in Teheran Sunday that Iran is determined to carry out nuclear research for civilian purposes.

Ahmadinejad made the statement at his first press conference after Iranian voters chose him in the 9th presidential election runoff in Friday.

He told the reporters that Iran has the right to pursue its nuclear program and will "never give up its legal rights under any circumstances."

However, Iran will continue its talks with the European Union (EU) on the nuclear issue to show moderation in its foreign policy, added the president-elect.

"We are going to talk with them (the Europeans), but I want to point out that no matter whether the talks yield results or not, Iran will never change its policy, " Ahmadinejad said, adding that Tehran only make decisions according to its own principles.

Meanwhile, he stressed that mutual confidence was extremely needed in the bilateral nuclear talks.

"The two sides must share more mutual confidence, and then the negotiations will go on better," Ahmadinejad said.

In reaction to a question about the exact time of the resumption of the country's highly sensitive uranium enrichment, Ahmadinejad refused to reveal by dodging.

The president-elect also reiterated Tehran's pledge that the nuclear research would never be diverted to military usage.

Ahmadinejad, a representative of the ultra-conservatives in Iran, defeated pragmatic former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani with a landslide victory in the ninth presidential election runoff fon Friday.

During his campaign, Ahmadinejad posed an unyielding stance on Iran's nuclear issue, which raised worries over the prospect of a diplomatic solution to the dispute.

The nuclear talks between Iran and the EU had reached a deadlock for months before Iran held the election due to the uncompromising stances of the two sides.

In order to prevent a looming crisis, Tehran and Europe held a round of key talks at the end of May, agreeing to virtually suspend the negotiations to wait the result of Iran's election.

The United States has accused Iran of developing nuclear weapons and urged to refer Tehran's nuclear case to the UN Security Council.

Iran has categorically denied the charge, insisting that its nuclear research is just for peaceful purposes.

(Xinhua News Agency June 27, 2005)