The international community is willing to help Iran procure medical isotopes from abroad, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said he hoped the offer would help to "build some confidence" and aimed to show that Iran's plan to enrich uranium to 20-percent purity for a reactor making isotopes for cancer patients was "unnecessary."

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that a new push toward international sanctions against Iran "should be completed" in the next few weeks.

In an impromptu news conference, Obama said that despite Tehran's denials it is clear to him that Iran is pursuing a path toward "nuclear weaponization." He said the international community is looking at a "variety of ways" to apply pressure to Iran's government, which he said did not speak with one voice and was giving "mixed signals."

Reuters