TEHRAN, Aug 20: Iran has said it will not suspend uranium enrichment, ruling out the main demand in a package backed by six world powers that aims to allay Western fears Tehran is seeking to build atomic bombs.

Iran says it will formally respond by Tuesday to proposals made by the US, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany. The six have offered incentives for Iran to suspend enrichment, a process that has both military and civilian uses.

Tehran, which insists its nuclear aims are purely civilian, shows no sign of accepting the package.

“We are not going to suspend (enrichment). The issue was that everything should come out of negotiations, but suspension of uranium enrichment is not on our agenda,” a foreign ministry spokesman told a weekly news conference on Sunday.—Reuters