Rice: Iran must answer to suspicions of nukes

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday that Iran cannot delay indefinitely accountability for a suspected nuclear weapons program, but said the United States has set "no deadline, no timeline" for Tehran to act.\nNearing the end of a European tour that included visits to both old and new members of the expanding NATO, Rice said the United States remains in "close consultations" with its European allies on the issue.\nShe warned Tehran that the United States would not accept foot-dragging by the government there as officials weigh various diplomatic overtures that European nations have made to resolve the nuclear question.\nIn Washington, President Bush said he was pleased with the response Rice had received from Europeans on efforts to restrain Iran's nuclear ambitions. \n"The Iranians just need to know that the free world is working together to send a very clear message: Don't develop a nuclear weapon," Bush said. "And the reason we're sending that message is because Iran with a nuclear weapon would be a very destabilizing force in the world."\nAt a news conference with NATO officials, Rice told reporters that Iran must live up to its obligations.\n"I'm quite clear and I believe everybody is telling the Iranians that they are going to have to live up to their international obligations," she said. "It is obvious that if Iran cannot be brought to live up to its international obligations, in fact, the (International Atomic Energy Agency) statute would indicate that Iran would have to be referred to the U.N. Security Council" for possible sanctions.\n"I think the message is there," Rice said. "The Iranians need to get that message," she said, adding that Tehran should know that "there are other steps" the international community can take.\nIn remarks earlier in an interview with Fox News, released Wednesday, the secretary had said "Iranians need to hear that if they are unwilling to take the deal, really, that the Europeans are giving ... then the Security Council referral looms."\nAsked at Wednesday's news conference how long the diplomatic efforts should continue, Rice replied, "We've set no deadline, no timeline. The Iranians know what they need to do."\nRice said the United States continues to be in close consultations with the Europeans "about how it's going, about whether progress is being made ... and we'll just monitor and continue those discussions. ... We are in very close consultation."\nIn the Fox interview, Rice said, "We have believed all along that Iran ought to be referred to the Security Council and then a variety of steps are available to the international community." The interview was taped in Paris and released after her arrival here.\n"They need to hear that the discussions that they are in with the Europeans are not going to be a kind of way station where they are allowed to continue their activities; that there's going to be an end to this and that they are going to end up in the Security Council," she said.\nBritain, France and Germany are in talks with the Iranian regime, but the United States kept its distance from that effort, and the Europeans have been reluctant to take the matter to the United Nations before making further efforts at a deal.\nFrench Foreign Minister Michel Barnier used a news conference with Rice Tuesday night in Paris to repeat that France and the other European participants are committed to letting the diplomacy run its course.\nHe said he had asked Rice for American "support and confidence"