Iran said Sunday that it was still willing to negotiate with the international community over its nuclear program and dismissed its referral by the U.N. nuclear watchdog to the Security Council.

"The door for negotiations is still open," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told a morning press conference. "We don't fear the Security Council. It's not the end of the world."

The International Atomic Energy Agency on Saturday reported Iran to the U.N. Security Council over fears it wants to produce nuclear arms. Iran responded by saying it would restart full-scale work on uranium enrichment and no longer allow intrusive IAEA inspections of its facilities.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad mocked the IAEA referral.

"Issue as many resolutions like this as you want and make yourself happy. You can't prevent the progress of the Iranian nation," he said in comments carried by the official Islamic Republic News Agency.

"In the name of the IAEA they want to visit all our nuclear facilities and learn our defense capabilities, but we won't allow them to do this," Ahmadinejad said.

In the past, Iran had allowed short-notice, intrusive inspections of its facilities, including military sites.

But parliament passed a law last year requiring the government to block intrusive inspections of Iran's facilities if the country were brought before the Security Council. It also required the government to resume all suspended nuclear activities, chief among them, uranium enrichment.

Asefi reiterated that Iran would cooperate with the IAEA within the framework of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and the Safeguard Agreement.

"We chose our way wisely. We have solutions for all situations that may develop. Referring Iran to the Security Council will definitely harm the other party more than Iran," Asefi said.