"Whatever Mr Ahmadinejad says, everyone understands that in Iran, he is not the person who makes decisions on foreign policy, on defense policy," senior White House adviser David Axelrod told the ABC show "This Week."

The arbiter on policy in the Islamic republic is its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who Washington has openly hinted was the ultimate target of US engagement policies.

Axelrod's comments -- and those of Washington's ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice -- come a day after Ahmadinejad again slammed US President Barack Obama for "interfering" in Iran, as debate raged over the Iranian president's disputed re-election.

Rice told CBS's "Face the Nation" that Ahmadinejad is "not the principal decision-maker when it comes to foreign policy and national security," and that the supreme leader is.

"That was the case before the election; it is the case now," she said.

"And we will proceed in pursuit of our national interests, using all elements at our disposal, to try to achieve the goals that are most important to us, which are obviously to prevent Iran from pursuing its nuclear weapons capability, preventing a regional arms race (and) ensuring that our partners and allies in the region and indeed the United States remain safe."

On Friday, Obama decried Iran's crackdown on demonstrators as "outrageous" and warned that any direct dialogue with Tehran would be "affected by the events of the last several weeks."

But he said that talks between Iran and the five veto-wielding permanent members of the UN Security Council (P5) plus Germany over its nuclear program were likely to continue, a message reinforced Sunday by Axelrod and Rice.

"We will continue to pursue the offer that the P5... plus Germany put on the table two months ago in April to give the Iranians a choice," Rice said.

"This is up to them. They have one path, which is a path of ending their nuclear weapons program and acting responsibly, rejoining the community of nations, or another path, which is to face increased isolation and pressure. That is up to them."

Rice added that US officials "have not rescinded that prospect" of face-to-face talks between Tehran and Washington.

Axelrod said Tehran's failure to halt its nuclear program would yield "some very stark consequences."

"Nuclear weapons in Iran and the nuclearization of that whole region is a threat to that country, all countries in the region, and the world," the adviser said. "And we have to address that. We can't let that lie."

related report
Hopes for Iran talks hit by violence: Obama
US President Barack Obama admitted Friday Iran's crackdown on demonstrators had dented his hopes for direct talks with Tehran, but said international multilateral nuclear talks would go on.

In another stiffening of tone on Iran, Obama also sharply dismissed demands for an apology from President Mahmoud Ahamdinejad over his previous comments on Tehran's suppression of political dissent.

"There is no doubt that any direct dialogue or diplomacy with Iran is going to be affected by the events of the last several weeks," Obama said after talks at the White House with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"I think we're going to have to see how that plays itself out in the days and weeks ahead," said Obama.

Obama said however that the talks compered by the international P5-plus-1 group over Iran's nuclear program would likely continue.

He argued that despite speaking out with a "unified voice" on the violence in Tehran, the world needed to recognize that the prospect of Iran with nuclear weapons was a "big problem."

"My expectation would be ... that you're going to continue to see some multilateral discussions with Iran."

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana has been authorized by UN Security Council permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany -- to discuss the issue with Tehran.

Obama also offered a personal riposte for Ahmadinejad's demands for an apology and accusations that the US president, despite a measured early response to the crackdown, had meddled in Iran's internal affairs.

"I don't take Mr Ahmadinejad's statements seriously about apologies, particularly given the fact that the United States has gone out of its way not to interfere with the election process in Iran," said Obama.

"I'm really not concerned about Mr. Ahmadinejad apologizing to me.

"I would suggest that Mr. Ahmadinejad think carefully about the obligations he owes to his own people.

"And he might want to consider looking at the families of those who've been beaten or shot or detained ... that's where I think Mr. Ahmadinejad and others need to answer their questions."

Obama's comments were his first public response to Ahmadinejad's tirade against the United States and the West on Thursday, partly prompted by the US president's hardening tone on violence in Iran.

"I hope you (Obama) will avoid interfering in Iran's affairs," Ahmadinejad said, accusing the US leader of using words similar to those of his predecessor George W. Bush who took a hard line against the Islamic republic.

"Will you use this language with Iran (in any future dialogue)? If this is your stance, there will be nothing left to talk about," said Ahmadinejad.

Obama responded to Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election with a measured approach, but hardened his tone on Tuesday following a crackdown on mass demonstrations supporting a rival candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Merkel bemoaned the "horrifying scenes" that she had seen from Iran. "We will not forget those," she said, and vowed to do everything to find out the number and identities of victims of the government crackdown.

"In this day and age of the 21st century, Iran cannot count on the world community turning a blind eye to this," she said.

Merkel referenced her own upbringing in communist East Germany, saying it was important for victims to know the people of the world were aware of their plight.

She also called for a "diplomatic solution to prevent Iran from gaining possession of a nuclear weapon."

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