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US says time 'very short' for Iran on nuclear deal

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 WASHINGTON: Iran faces a "very short" window to submit its formal response to a U.N.-brokered deal meant to allay suspicions that it seeks to develop nuclear weapons, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday."Frustration is mounting," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told a news briefing, noting that Tehran had still not made a formal reply to a proposal drafted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) more than a month ago."We're not prepared to actually pronounce that they have rejected the deal because they haven't formally rejected the deal yet," Kelly said."We always hesitate to give a formal deadline -- but I would just say that time is very short."Kelly did not specify the time frame he meant by "short."Kelly added that an IAEA report this week that said Iran's belated revelation of a new uranium enrichment site raised concern about possible further nuclear secrets underscored the need for full Iranian compliance with its international obligations.The draft deal brokered by the IAEA, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, calls on Iran to send some 75 percent of its low-enriched uranium (LEU) to Russia and France to be turned into fuel for a Tehran medical research reactor.

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