Tehran has already ignored a US-set December 31 deadline to accept a UN-brokered deal aimed at allaying fears about its nuclear drive by shipping most of its low enriched uranium (LEU) stockpile abroad to be further enriched into reactor fuel.

Despite the threat of tougher sanctions, Iran has rejected the offer drawn up by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and come out with its own proposal of a simultaneous and staged swap of LEU with reactor fuel.

"Based on the talks Iran had with the relevant parties, it was decided to provide the Tehran reactor with the necessary fuel (from outside), and if not then we will produce it," foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said.

"Then the (negotiating) parties asked the Islamic republic to give them two months to reach an understanding and we accepted that," news agencies quoted him as saying.

"Now one month of that waiting period is over and one month is left. So if it does not materialise (the provision of fuel) then Iran will take the necessary decision."

Mehmanparast was speaking a day after Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki gave the West a one-month "ultimatum" to accept the Iranian counter-proposal.

Some western powers have dismissed the Iranian proposal and called on Tehran to accept the IAEA deal or face further sanctions.

Reacting to Mottaki's statement, the US National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said on Saturday that the IAEA proposal was sufficient.

"If getting access to fuel is Iran's objective, then there is absolutely no reason why the existing proposal, which Iran accepted in principle at Geneva, is insufficient. The Iranian government is standing in its own way," Hammer said.

Last month Mottaki said Iran was open to exchanging uranium on Turkish soil. The IAEA has ruled out a swap taking place in Iran itself.

World powers have been pushing for Iran to accept the UN-brokered deal and are also mulling fresh UN sanctions after Tehran dismissed the year-end deadline.

Iran is already under three sets of UN Security Council sanctions over its defiance and refusal to suspend enrichment, which lies at the heart of international fears about its nuclear programme.

The process that makes nuclear fuel can also be used to make the fissile core of an atomic bomb.

The United States, Israel, and other world powers suspect Tehran is making a nuclear bomb under the guise of a civilian programme, something Iran vehemently denies.

The United States is reportedly weighing targeted sanctions against members of Tehran's government and most notably the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps that runs the country's ballistic missile programme.

The Washington Post said on Wednesday the US administration wanted targeted sanctions to avoid alienating the Iranian public, while keeping the door open to a resolution of the crisis over Tehran's nuclear programme.

The New York Times reported on Saturday that President Barack Obama's administration believes domestic unrest and signs of unexpected trouble in Iran's nuclear programme make its leaders vulnerable to strong and immediate new sanctions.

Meanwhile, a top Israeli official said the UN Security Council will adopt a fresh batch of sanctions against Iran within a month.

"The world is uniting against Iran's nuclear programme, and within a month we will see UN Security Council sanctions," deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon of Tehran's arch-foe Israel said on Sunday.

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