Iran’s Leader Says His Nation Won’t Be Bullied

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed Wednesday that Iran would not submit to what he called bullying by “fake superpowers,” as European nations circulated a draft resolution urging that Tehran be reported to the U.N. Security Council because of its nuclear activities.

Ahmadinejad’s comments to supporters in Bushehr province were broadcast live on state television a day before the International Atomic Energy Agency meets in Vienna on the issue.

“All fake superpowers should know that Iran has been independent for 27 years, relying on its own will,” Ahmadinejad said, referring to the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The U.S. and European Union are concerned that Iran’s enrichment research is a front for developing atomic bombs. Iran says its nuclear program is designed to produce electricity.

In Vienna, European nations submitted a text to the IAEA board of governors calling for Iran to be reported to the Security Council. Submission means the 35-nation board must make a decision at its meeting, which begins today.

The motion was expected to pass by a wide margin, and Iran has warned that the move would result in large-scale uranium enrichment and an end to some U.N. inspections.

In Washington, Undersecretary of State Robert G. Joseph said Iran was trying to build a delivery system that would allow it to threaten nuclear strikes.

Joseph, the department’s top arms control official, spoke at an annual dinner of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group. Ahmadinejad has said Israel should be “wiped off the map.”