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TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran on Thursday defied threats of further UN sanctions after the UN nuclear watchdog confirmed its controversial atomic program was expanding, saying the drive would not pause even "for a moment".

"The enemies aim to prevent us from using peaceful nuclear technology, not for scientific reasons but because they want to eradicate the roots of the principles of the Islamic republic," said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

"Therefore if we stop, even for a moment, they will achieve their aims," he told a group of elite Revolutionary Guards commanders, according to Iranian news agencies.

The UN nuclear watchdog said on Wednesday that Iran was defying UN Security Council demands to stop enriching uranium and is expanding the work, leading the way for world powers to discuss a new sanctions package.

Immediately after the report was published, the United States urged new sanctions against Iran, in addition to the two sets of measures agreed by the UN Security Council in December and March over its defiance.