President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday Iran would enrich uranium to a higher level itself, apparently ruling out a U.N.-brokered deal meant to dispel fears Tehran is pursuing nuclear weapons capability.

Western diplomats said Iran two months ago accepted in principle a plan for it to send 75 percent of its low-enriched uranium (LEU) to Russia and France to be further enriched then converted into fuel for Iran's nuclear medicine programme.