Iran's foreign minister says his country has already responded to a U.N.-brokered nuclear fuel plan, while countries involved in negotiations say they are still waiting for a reply.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki during press conference 17 Nov 2009

Iranian state media quote Manouchehr Mottaki as saying Wednesday that Western nations are trying to tell Iran that it must respond to the plan in "the manner that they expect."

U.S. President Barack Obama recently said Iran is running out of time to respond to the proposal, and warned of consequences if Iran fails to show its nuclear program is peaceful.

Mottaki says Iran has rejected a part of the plan that would have Iran send its enriched uranium abroad in exchange for nuclear fuel.

He says Iran would consider a uranium-for-fuel swap inside the country.

The deal, brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency, is designed to ease concerns about Iran's nuclear program, which Western nations say is aimed at creating weapons. Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

The deal was agreed to by the other parties involved in negotiations including Russia, the United States and France.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.