Iran parliament speaker says assembly backs nuclear program despite latest UN sanctions

Iran speaker says parliament backs nuclear program

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s parliament speaker says lawmakers are backing the government’s push to move ahead with the country’s nuclear program.

The remarks by Ali Larijani come in defiance of the latest U.N. sanctions imposed over Iran’s refusal to halt uranium enrichment — a process that can be used to make nuclear fuel for power plants or lead to nuclear arms production.

Larijani says Iran must not back down from producing uranium enriched to a higher, 20 percent level.

He says it’s needed after a deal fell through to exchange Iran’s low-level uranium for 20-percent enriched one in the form of fuel rods from abroad, for use in a Tehran research reactor.

Larijani spoke at an open session of the parliament on Wednesday.

Tehran denies it’s seeking to make nuclear weapons.