Iran has offered a guarantee that it will not try to develop atomic weapons but insisted it will press ahead with its nuclear program to develop nuclear technology "in the shortest possible time."
The comments come on the day a United Nations Security Council deadline that gave Iran 60 days to end nuclear enrichment ends.
President Ahmadinejad
The United States and its allies suspect that Iran is using its nuclear program to produce an atomic weapon - charges Iran denies, saying its aim is to generate electricity.
"Obtaining this technology is very important for our country's development and honor. It is worth it to stop other activities for 10 years and focus only on the nuclear issue," the student news agency ISNA quoted Ahmadinejad as saying in the northern Iranian town of Siahkal.
"If the other side expresses concerns about possible deviations of Iran's activities in the future, we have no objections to settling these concerns at the negotiating table," Larijani said after meeting the UN nuclear watchdog director.
"We would give the necessary assurances and guarantees (in negotiations) that there will be no deviation ever toward nuclear weapons (in Iran)," said Larijani, who Iranian officials said would go to Italy for talks on Wednesday.
"We are a country with no intentions to develop nuclear weapons. We want to work within the framework of the NPT (nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty)."
Iran's most senior nuclear negotiator yesterday dismissed the threat of force over its nuclear programme.
Speaking in Vienna after talks with the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Ali Larijani said the issue could only be resolved through dialogue.
"Constructive dialogue that could ... address the concerns" of both Tehran, which insists on enrichment as its right, and the world powers that fear the program would be used to develop nuclear arms.
While telling reporters his country was prepared to deliver "assurances that there would be no deviation ... toward a nuclear weapons program," he offered no new suggestions - and indirectly ruled out suspending enrichment, saying that was just a "pretext" to put political pressure on his country.
Larijani was even more direct in rejecting an enrichment freeze as a precondition for negotiations in talks with ElBaradei, according to diplomats familiar with the substance of their conversation.
The diplomat said Larijani told ElBaradei that Iran could consider an enrichment freeze only as a result of talks - and not before sitting down at the negotiating table.
Iran has rejected the Security Council resolution as "illegal," and said it would not give up its right to enrich under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Discussions on a new resolution aimed at stepping up pressure on Iran to suspend enrichment are expected to start next week, a Security Council diplomat said in New York, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
But Russia and China, both veto-holding council members with close ties to Iran, are likely to oppose economic sanctions or weapons bans. A travel ban was dropped from the initial resolution because of Moscow's opposition, so tough negotiations are expected, the diplomat said.
Agencies