Iran''s president pledged Thursday to work with the West to resolve a standoff over its nuclear program even as his country reportedly balked at a U.S.-backed deal to limit its uranium enrichment and curb its ability to make a nuclear warhead.

A Western diplomat said Iran rejected a plan to export most of its enriched uranium, offering instead to enrich it to a higher level inside the country under U.N. supervision.

The disconnect between the words of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Tehran''s decision, as related by the diplomat, reflected the difficulties facing international negotiators trying to persuade Iran to give up enrichment.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, whose country holds told the European Union''s rotating presidency, was dismissive after seeing the offer.

"It''s the same old tricks," he told the AP: "A back-and-forth for further talks."