Israeli President Shimon Peres (L) shakes hand with visiting United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon before their meeting in Jerusalem, Israel, on Feb. 1, 2012. (Xinhua/Yin Dongxun)

Israeli President Shimon Peres told UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday that Israel's talks with the Palestinians in Jordan were not at an end despite a series of fruitless meetings between the two sides in recent weeks.

"The peace negotiations (held in the Jordanian capital Amman) are encountering natural differences," Peres told Ban, who is here for a visit, "It is not the end of it. It may take time."

Ban called Israel "to make some good gestures so that the meetings can continue" in Amman, according to The Jerusalem Post.

It is unclear if Ban will make a similar request to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) President Mahmoud Abbas, whom he will confer with during his visit to Ramallah later on Wednesday. Israel's Ha'aretz daily said that Abbas is to talk with the Arab League (AL) representatives on Saturday on whether or not to again send his negotiating team to Amman.

Ban also told Peres that investigators of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) who were looking for evidence of Iran' s clandestine nuclear weapons program in recent days had held " good" talks with Iranian officials.

"I have been urging the Iranian authorities to prove that their nuclear program is genuinely for peaceful purposes. I think they have not yet convinced the international community," Ban said.

He added, however, that there is "no alternative to a dialogue with Iran," Ynet news reported.

"There is still a lot of work to be done and so we have planned another trip in the very near future," said Herman Nackaerts, IAEA deputy director general, after concluding his visit to Iran.

The Iranians are "committed to progress," Nackaerts said, "so there is still a lot of work to be done and so we have planned another trip in the very near future."

In addition to Iran's regional and nuclear aspirations, Peres reminded Ban that the Iranians were successfully smuggling weapons for militants in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

Ban is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after which he will travel to Ramallah to meet with the Palestinian leader.