State TV says Iran wants to buy nuclear fuel it needs for a research reactor rather than accept a U.N.-drafted plan to ship much of its uranium to Russia for further enrichment.

“Iran is interested in buying fuel for the Tehran research reactor within the framework of a clear proposal … we are waiting for the other party’s constructive and trust-building response,” Iranian TV quoted a member of Iran’s negotiating team as saying, Reuters reports.

Iran’s response will come as a disappointment to the U.S., Russia and France, which all endorsed the U.N. plan Friday that called for Iran to ship its uranium stockpile to Russia rather than continue what is believed to be an weapons-grade enrichment program. The three countries formulated the draft plan in three days of talks with Iran in Vienna that ended Wednesday.

White House officials said Friday Iran had not yet delivered a formal response to the plan drafted by the International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA) and that President Obama would await final word from the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog.

“The president, just like everyone else, is waiting to hear from [IAEA Director General Mohamed] ElBaradei on what the final word is,” White House deputy spokesman Bill Burton told Reuters. “The word is that ElBaradei has not received official word yet, so we’re waiting until that happens.”

Earlier, an official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington did not regard the Iranian state television report as Tehran’s official response to the plan, seen as one way to buy time for broader talks on Iran’s nuclear program.

Friday’s report quotes an unnamed source close to Iran’s negotiating team as saying Tehran is waiting for a response to its proposal to buy nuclear fuel for the reactor, which is used to make radioactive medical isotopes.

An unnamed member of Iran’s negotiating team urged world powers Friday to “refrain from past mistakes in violating agreements and make efforts to win the trust of the Iranian nation,” according to state TV.

President Obama has stepped up diplomatic engagement with Iran since he took office in January and has faulted the Bush administration for refusing to talk to U.S. adversaries. But he has also threatened harsher sanctions if Iran does not cooperate to ease fears about the nature of its nuclear program.

Western diplomats, Reuters reports, said the IAEA plan, which has not been made public, would require Tehran to send 1.2 tons of its known 1.5-ton stockpile of low-enriched uranium by the end of 2009 to Russia and France, where it would be further enriched to make it difficult to be used for warheads. It would later be returned to Tehran for usage in a reactor that makes radioactive medical isotopes.

Based on the present Iranian stockpile, the U.S. estimates Tehran could produce a nuclear weapon as early as next year and as last as 2015, an assessment that broadly matches those from Israel and other nations.

International concerns about Iran’s nuclear program surged in September when it was revealed the country was constructing a previously undisclosed uranium enrichment facility near the holy city of Qom.

Iran later agreed to allow U.N. inspectors to visit the facility, and the official Islamic Republic News Agency said Friday that IAEA representatives would arrive Saturday to start the inspection.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.