TEHRAN, Jan 28: Iran's suspension of uranium enrichment will be short-lived and the Islamic Republic will restart the programme whenever it chooses, Hassan Rohani, head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said on Wednesday.

Iran announced it had suspended uranium enrichment in November as a goodwill gesture. It was under intense US-led international pressure to prove it was not seeking atomic weapons.

"It (enrichment) is not stopped, rather it is suspended and this will not last long. Whenever we think it is right we will restart it," the mid-ranking cleric told a students gathering, reported by the official IRNA news agency.

Western diplomats have told Reuters Iran has been acquiring large amounts of equipment for centrifuges used to enrich uranium despite its promise to suspend all activities.

Enriched uranium can be used to fuel nuclear power stations for domestic electricity supply. But a further enrichment to so-called weapons grade can be deployed in warheads.

Iran is building a nuclear power station at the southern port of Bushehr with Russian assistance and has ordered plans drawn up for a second facility. It insists its nuclear programme is geared towards meeting booming domestic electricity demand and freeing up its finite fossil fuels for export.

Although Iran last month signed the Additional Protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that allows snap UN inspections of nuclear facilities, pressure on Iran to come clean on its activities is still fierce.

Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi has said that under the NPT, Iran was entitled to pursue nuclear activities for peaceful purposes. "We have suspended the activities of uranium enrichment, but this does not mean we are going to stop it forever," he said.-Reuters