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Barack Obama’s hopes of persuading Iran to renounce its nuclear ambitions appeared to have been dashed yesterday after the UN watchdog admitted that it had reached a stalemate with Tehran, and President Ahmadinejad declared the nuclear debate over.

Mr Ahmadinejad’s show of defiance came as the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) gathered in Vienna to discuss the failure of Tehran to answer questions about an alleged military dimension to its nuclear programme.

The Iranian leader vowed to forge ahead with uranium enrichment, even as a deadline of the end of this month, set by Mr Obama for Iran to resume negotiations, approaches. “From our point of view, Iran’s nuclear issue is over,” Mr Ahmadinejad said during the first press conference he has given since he was sworn in for a second term as President.