TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's president defiantly refused to compromise as a UN deadline for his country to stop enriching uranium arrived Thursday, saying Tehran would not be bullied into giving up its right to nuclear technology.

Iran's refusal to heed the UN Security Council demand to stop enrichment will be detailed in a confidential IAEA report to be completed Thursday and given to the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35 board member nations. That is likely to trigger council members - by mid-September - to begin considering economic or political sanctions.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks during a press conference in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2006. Iran's hard-line president on Tuesday challenged the authority of the U.N. Security Council, saying no one can prevent his country from having a peaceful nuclear program. [AP]

Iran could theoretically still announce a full stop to uranium enrichment before the day is up, but that appeared unlikely, given President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech and new findings by the IAEA that Iran was enriching small quantities of uranium as late as Tuesday.

"The Iranian nation will not accept for one moment any bullying, invasion and violation of its rights," Ahmadinejad told a crowd of thousands in the northwestern city of Orumiyeh.

He also said enemies of the country were trying to stir up differences among the Iranian people, but "I tell them: you are wrong. The Iranian nation is united."

"They claim to be supporting freedom but they support the most tyrannical governments in the world to pursue their own interests," he said, referring to the United States. "They talk about human rights while maintaining the most notorious prisons. Those powers that do not abide by God and follow evil are the main source of all the current problems of mankind."

The U.S. State Department has not said publicly what type of punishment it might seek. But U.S. and European officials have indicated they might push for travel restrictions on Iranian officials or a ban on sale of dual-use technology to Iran. The hope is to start with relatively low-level punishments in a bid to attract Russian and Chinese support, the officials have said.

More extreme sanctions could include a freeze on Iranian assets or a broader trade ban ¡ª although opposition to that by Russia, China and perhaps others would be strong, particularly since it could cut off badly needed oil exports from Iran.

Russia and China, which have traditional economic and strategic ties with Tehran, seem likely to resist US-led efforts for a quick response, which means sanctions do not loom immediately. That has prompted the Bush administration to consider rallying its allies to impose sanctions or financial restrictions of their own, independent of the Security Council.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi shrugged off the possibility of sanctions Thursday, telling state-run television that Iran "will find a way to avoid pressure eventually."

The deadline was widely reported on the front pages of major Iranian newspapers. The daily Aftab said the showdown offers "the enemies" a chance to ratchet up pressure on Iran. Another newspaper, Kargozaran, expressed doubt that the US would muster enough support within the Security Council for punitive sanctions.

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