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Iran urged to give nuclear reply Iran defiant on nuclear deadline
(about 6 hours later)
Iran must give a "clear answer" to the international community's offer of a deal on its nuclear programme, Germany's foreign minister has said. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said his country will not retreat "one iota" on its nuclear programme.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier urged Iran to "stop dallying" - but Iran says it has no intention of meeting a deadline. He was speaking after meeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is on a two-day visit to Tehran.
Tehran was given 14 days to agree to stop enriching uranium in return for a pledge to impose no new sanctions - a deadline that runs out this weekend. The meeting coincided with an informal deadline set by Western officials in a dispute over Tehran's uranium enrichment plans.
Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has arrived in Iran for talks. Mr Assad had promised France he would use his ties with Iran to help resolve its nuclear stand-off with the West.
Analysts say the nuclear issue is likely to be high on the agenda when he meets Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In a statement published on the Iranian president's website, Mr Ahmadinejad said: "In whichever negotiation we take part... it is unequivocally with the view to the realisation of Iran's nuclear right, and the Iranian nation would not retreat one iota from its rights."
Israeli warning He said that international agreements meant Iran, like every other country, had the right to engage in uranium enrichment and possess nuclear power stations.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had earlier urged Iran to give a "clear answer" on a deal offered by the international community, telling it to "stop dallying".
But Iran had said it had no intention of observing the 14-day deadline attached to the offer, a deadline that ran out on Saturday.
The offer pledged not to impose new sanctions in return for halting uranium enrichment.
Assad pledge
Tehran has claimed consistently that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes, but the US and its allies believe it could be used to develop a nuclear weapon.
During a visit to Paris in July, Mr Assad had promised French President Nicolas Sarkozy he would try to persuade Iran to offer proof it is not developing nuclear weapons.
Iran appears to be pressing ahead with its nuclear programme
But, says the BBC's Jon Leyne in Tehran, it would be hard to see him persuading Mr Ahmadinejad to meet Western demands on the nuclear issue.
With Israel and Syria holding indirect peace talks, our correspondent adds, it is more likely that Mr Assad's visit is aimed at reassuring Tehran about the alliance between Iran and Syria.
Iran was set the informal deadline on 19 July after its chief nuclear negotiator met officials from the UN, EU and the US in Geneva.Iran was set the informal deadline on 19 July after its chief nuclear negotiator met officials from the UN, EU and the US in Geneva.
It was the first time senior officials from the US and Iran had held face-to-face talks on the issue.It was the first time senior officials from the US and Iran had held face-to-face talks on the issue.
But so far there has been no answer from Iran.
Iran says it will offer its own ideas on the issue
In an interview with the weekly Der Spiegel, Mr Steinmeier appealed to the Iranians to provide an answer to the offer.In an interview with the weekly Der Spiegel, Mr Steinmeier appealed to the Iranians to provide an answer to the offer.
"I appeal again to the Iranian side no longer to play for time, but to give us a usable answer to our offers - stop dallying," he said."I appeal again to the Iranian side no longer to play for time, but to give us a usable answer to our offers - stop dallying," he said.
But Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's representative at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said no deadline had been agreed.But Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's representative at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said no deadline had been agreed.
"We have not had any discussion [or] agreement of the so-called timeline of two weeks," he said."We have not had any discussion [or] agreement of the so-called timeline of two weeks," he said.
The disagreements came as Israel's deputy prime minister warned that Iran was near a breakthrough in its nuclear programme. Sanctions
Meanwhile, Israel's deputy prime minister warned that Iran was near a breakthrough in its nuclear programme.
Shaul Mofaz, a frontrunner to succeed Ehud Olmert as prime minister later in the year, said Iran could be capable of producing weapons-grade uranium by 2010.Shaul Mofaz, a frontrunner to succeed Ehud Olmert as prime minister later in the year, said Iran could be capable of producing weapons-grade uranium by 2010.
"It's a race against time and time is winning," he said.
The UN Security Council has already imposed three sets of sanctions on Iran.The UN Security Council has already imposed three sets of sanctions on Iran.
The US has hinted that a fourth could follow if the current offer is rejected by Tehran.The US has hinted that a fourth could follow if the current offer is rejected by Tehran.
But analysts say the Geneva deadline always threatened to be counter-productive - especially when there was no immediate penalty for not complying. On the face of it, our correspondent says, Iran is pressing ahead with its nuclear programme with no immediate prospect of new sanctions, but the Iranian government must be worried that it faces the danger of steadily growing international isolation.
Tehran has said it will offer its own ideas in its own time - perhaps in the next two weeks.
Iran has claimed consistently that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes, but the US and its allies believe it could be used to develop a nuclear weapon.