JNN 16 Nov 2010 Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Ahani says Iran will defend its right to use peaceful nuclear technology against politically-motivated allegations by the West.

“As a responsible member of the international community Iran will transparently defend its inalienable right to use peaceful nuclear technology,” Ahani said in a meeting with Hungarian Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi in Budapest.

Ahani criticized the US-engineered UN Security Council sanctions against Iran and the European Union’s extra-regional measures which are pressuring Iranian expatriates and students by restricting financial transactions or by refusing to refuel Iranian passenger planes.

The Hungarian foreign minister, for his part, praised Iran’s rich civilization and expressed his country’s desire to expand bilateral relations with the Islamic Republic.

“Hungary totally confirms Iran’s complete right to peaceful nuclear know-how, and at the same time more transparency through negotiations and dialogue,” IRNA quoted Martonyi as saying on Tuesday.

Hungary believes that negotiation is the only solution to end the disputes, the Hungarian top diplomat continued.

The United States and its allies accuse Iran of pursuing a covert military nuclear program — an allegation refuted by the Islamic Republic.

Tehran says as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty it is entitled to use peaceful nuclear technology as all its nuclear activities have been under the full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.