Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a speech broadcast on state television on January 9, said further sanctions imposed by the West would not make Iran change its nuclear course.

Washington and its allies say Iran is using its nuclear program as a cover to develop atomic bombs, and the United States and the European Union recently expanded sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.

Iran denies this but so far has refused to halt uranium enrichment as demanded by the UN Security Council.

Also on January 9, Western news agencies cited unnamed Vienna-based diplomats as saying Iran has begun enriching uranium to 20 percent at the Fordow underground nuclear facility near the city of Qom.

compiled from agency reports