Tehran, Iran ? Iranian leaders rejected a European proposal designed to calm Western fears their nuclear program could be used to develop weapons, saying Saturday the offer failed to recognize Iran’s right to enrich uranium for peaceful uses.

Germany accused Iran of being “confrontational.” It and France predicted that unless Iran backed down, the matter would go to the U.N. Security Council for consideration of sanctions. The U.N. nuclear watchdog agency is meeting Tuesday to discuss that possibility.

“The European proposals are unacceptable,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told Iranian state radio.

He said the primary reason was the failure to allow Iran to produce enriched uranium, which is a fuel for atomic reactors that generate electricity but also can be used to make nuclear bombs.

Iran repeatedly has said its nuclear program is strictly for peaceful purposes, and it denies U.S. allegations the operation is a cover for making atomic bombs.

During his inauguration speech Saturday, Iran’s new hard-line president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, did not mention the nuclear dispute directly but said his government would not bow to foreign pressure.

“I don’t know why some countries do not want to understand the fact that the Iranian people do not tolerate force,” Ahmadinejad said.

Acting on behalf of the European Union, Britain, France and Germany delivered the nuclear proposal Friday. The aim was to get Iran to commit not to build atomic arms by offering to provide fuel to help it generate electricity from nuclear reactors.