"Abandoning nuclear activities or enrichment is not something that Iran is ready to compromise on," foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told a weekly news conference.

He had been asked whether Iran would halt uranium enrichment activities as demanded by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in a resolution this month.

Inspectors are due to arrive in Tehran Thursday for a round of further inspections and talks with Iranian officials.

The IAEA has given Iran until October 31 to prove it has no secret nuclear weapons program, as the United States alleges.

If doubts remain about Iran's nuclear ambitions in November it could be reported to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions.

Iran insists its nuclear program is solely geared to producing enough electricity from atomic power to meet growing demand and insists it has cooperated with the IAEA.

"We have been transparent. We have said we're not seeking to produce weapons of mass destruction," Asefi said.

"But we haven't received a reciprocal answer from the international community. The (IAEA) resolution that was passed was political."

AFP adds: Iran has no need to develop an atomic bomb as every member of its Islamist Basij militia is a nuclear weapon, a top general was quoted as saying yesterday.

"Every Basiji is an atomic bomb, which is why we don't need to make an atomic bomb," General Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards land forces, told the Hambestegi newspaper.

He also warned the United States and Israel against considering attacking Iranian nuclear installations, notably the power plant at Bushehr which is being developed with Russian assistance.