Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said that the Islamic republic will not back down on its "peaceful" nuclear program, Press TV reported Tuesday.

Mehmanparast emphasized that the Iranian nation will not back away from its "inalienable right to a peaceful nuclear energy program under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)," according to the report.

He also criticized the British Defense Secretary Philip Hammond for his recent comments on the Iranian nuclear program, said the report.