Ahmadinejad says no reconciliation with U.S. if new sanctions imposed on Iran

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has threatened that new sanctions against the Islamic Republic, if imposed, will close the way for reconciliation between Tehran and Washington.

"If sanctions are imposed, relations between Iran and the U.S. will never improve," Ahmadinejad said during a Tuesday's news conference in New York, where a review conference on nuclear non-proliferation is under way.

He also said there are "radicals" in the U.S. administration, who "push [U.S. President] Barack Obama towards the worsening of relations with Iran."

The U.S. has led the calls for the United Nations to impose harsher sanctions on Iran, which is accused by Western powers of attempting to develop nuclear weapons under the guise of peaceful nuclear program.

Tehran has rejected the allegations, saying it needs enriched uranium for nuclear reactors producing medical isotopes.

Speaking earlier at the New York conference, Ahmadinejad accused Western powers, particularly the U.S., of double standards concerning nuclear non-proliferation.

"Regrettably, the government of the United States has not only used nuclear weapons, but it also continues to threaten to use such weapons against other countries, including Iran," he said.

Following Ahmadinejad's statement, the delegations of the U.S., Britain and France walked out of the UN General Assembly Hall.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used her speech at the conference to criticize Iran for "flouting the rules," and putting the non-proliferation regime at risk.

"Iran will do whatever it can to divert attention away from its own record in an attempt to evade accountability," Clinton said. "But Iran will not succeed in its efforts to divert and divide."

NEW YORK, May 5 (RIA Novosti)