A senior Iranian official said on Tuesday that Iran had no intention to retreat from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) after the UN Security Council resolution that imposes sanctions on Tehran, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Mehdi Mostafavi said the Islamic Republic had no intention to pull out of the NPT, but "will not remain indifferent towards the UN Security Council's illegal and unfair measure (resolution 1737)," according to IRNA.

"We will adopt necessary measure based on our national will, and the first step towards producing nuclear fuel on industrial scale will start during the 'Ten-Day Dawn' celebrations," said Mostafavi.

Iran holds the "Ten-Day Dawn" celebrations every year on February 1 to 10 to mark the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Meanwhile, Mostafavi criticized the main point of the resolution as demand out of the NPT regulations.

"It (the resolution) also had a dual attitude towards signatories to the NPT, the Iranian government and people will not accept the demands which the six nations and the Security Council intend to impose on the country beyond regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the NPT," he stressed.

The UN Security Council Resolution 1737, adopted unanimously on Saturday, demanded that Iran "suspend all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and developments on all heavy water-related projects."

The resolution also called on all states to impose a ban on trade with Iran in goods related to its nuclear programs and ballistic missile delivery systems.

It demanded that "all states shall freeze the funds, other financial assets and economic resources" owned or controlled by officials and companies in the country's nuclear and missile programs.

Shortly after the UN Security Council's unanimous vote, the Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement lashing out at the resolution as an "illegal measure."

On Sunday, Iran had also threatened to change the level of its cooperation with the IAEA.

(Xinhua News Agency December 27, 2006)