Peres: 'Devious' Iran hiding nuke ambitions

President Shimon Peres on Monday said a "sophisticated and devious" Iranian regime has managed to hide the Islamic Republic's nuclear ambitions from the world.

Speaking to a group of visiting U.S. members of Congress, Peres also said the United States must enlist Europe in its efforts to thwart those ambitions.

"The U.S. has a real partner in the European leadership and it must enlist it in the struggle against the Iranian nuclear [program]," the president said.

Peres' comments came after Iran criticized U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday for saying Tehran posed a threat with its nuclear program and urged Washington and other countries possessing atom weapons to dismantle their arsenals.

The president also warned the U.S. lawmakers that, "Until the Ayatollahs pay a significant price, they won't stop the nuclear development."

The group was headed by congresswoman Ellen O'Kane Tauscher, who has been appointed to the position of Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security.

Peres discussed with the lawmakers a number of practical measures that could be taken to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, a goal that Israel and the U.S. accuse Iran of secretly harboring.

Iran rejects the accusation and says its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only.

Peres also spoke with the members of Congress about the situation in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and the peace process with the Palestinians.

Iran supports U.S.-backed nuclear fuel bank idea

Iran welcomed on Monday a proposal to set up a global nuclear fuel repository, part of a U.S.-backed plan to put all uranium enrichment under strict international control.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in Kazakhstan on a visit, said he supported a proposal to host the nuclear bank in the fellow Caspian nation, which is accessible from Iran by sea

"We think that [Kazakh President] Nursultan Nazarbayev's idea to host a nuclear fuel bank is a very good proposal," he told reporters after talks with the Kazakh leader.

Iran's support for the idea comes as U.S. President Barack Obama pushes for a "new beginning" in bilateral ties, and could play a role in mending bridges after decades of mistrust.

Iran has said before that it would consider stopping sensitive uranium enrichment if guaranteed a supply of nuclear fuel from abroad. However, it has also frequently insisted on its right to master the complete nuclear fuel cycle, including enriching uranium, for peaceful purposes.

Enriched uranium can be used in a nuclear power plant or, if purified to a much higher degree, in an atomic bomb.

The global repository idea would allow countries to tap into its reserves to fuel their nuclear plants without having to develop their own enrichment capability.

Speaking in reaction to U.S. proposals of closer relations, Ahmadinejad welcomed "change and reform" but made it clear Tehran expected Washington to make the next move.

"We are waiting for this change," he said. "We hope that his (Obama's) views are based on the necessity for reform and change of policy. We hope he can achieve that."

The nuclear bank is due to be supervised by the International Atomic Energy Agency but its exact timing and cost remain unclear. Its final host is also yet to be decided.

Earlier on Monday, Nazarbayev said Kazakhstan, where the Soviet Union tested nuclear bombs, was ready to host such a bank on its territory -- part of his plan to boost his oil-rich nation's clout in regional diplomacy.

Kazakhstan, one of the world's biggest uranium producers, inherited a stock of nuclear arms after the Soviet Union collapsed. It gave up its arsenal shortly afterwards, winning praise in the West.