US President George Bush said on Wednesday Iran was taking too long to respond to an offer of incentives to halt nuclear work that could lead to atomic weapons, and urged it to reply within weeks.
Responding to a suggestion by Iran that it would reply to the major powers' proposals by August 22, Bush said: "It should not take the Iranians that long to analyse what is a reasonable deal. I said weeks, not months."
Bush was speaking at a news conference in Vienna after a summit with leaders of the European Union which, together with Russia and China, has backed Bush in his drive to ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear arsenal.
Senior officials representing the six powers, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China, then reaffirmed in a conference call that Iran should respond to the proposal within weeks, the US State Department said.
Spokesman Adam Ereli said the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany agreed they had made a "very good offer to Iran and we all urge Iran to accept that proposal".
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said shortly before Bush spoke that Tehran would respond by August 22.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the proposals presented "much ambiguity" and Iran had the right to study the proposals until then.
"President Bush cannot and should not be in a rush," Mottaki was quoted as saying by Italy's ANSA news agency after an interview with RAI state television.
"When Solana presented his proposals on June 6, there was no deadline agreed," he added.
Bush hoped in Vienna to ensure the threat of punishment such as UN sanctions remains strong if Iran does not abandon nuclear enrichment, a step in the production of nuclear arms, in return for the offer of incentives. "We have agreed that if Iran decides not to engage in negotiations, further steps would be taken in the Security Council. We urge Iran to take the positive path," the EU and United States said in a joint statement after their talks.
Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, whose country holds the EU presidency, said: "It's better we agree as soon as possible. Time is limited. We should not play with time."
The sextet have set an informal deadline of mid-July, when a Group of Eight industrial nations summit is planned.
Western diplomats have said Iran's hesitation to respond may be aimed at buying time to expand its nuclear fuel enrichment programme and make it a fait accompli.
Iranian debate
Diplomats said the delay was more a sign of debate within a complex Iranian power structure over how to respond. Iran, which has the second largest oil and gas reserves, says its drive to enrich uranium is solely to provide electricity for its economy.
"The problem is that it is very difficult for them to come to a final decision," said Iranian political analyst Mahmoud Alinejad.
"It is clear that the leadership is not prepared to accept total suspension (of nuclear enrichment) and this is a position it is very difficult to walk back from," he said.
Bush also warned North Korea against test-firing its long-range Taepodong-2 missile, saying it must abide by international agreements. The EU said such a test would be "deeply regrettable" and provocative.
Bush and EU leaders, including European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, underlined the improvement in relations since strains that appeared over the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
"I fully understand we have had our differences on Iraq. I can understand the difficulties but what's past is past and what is ahead is a hopeful democracy in the Middle East," Bush said.
Austrian police said 15,000 people protested peacefully against Bush.
The summit touched on differences between the United States and Europe on the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba and US visa requirements for many eastern European countries.
On a row over global trade negotiations, both Bush and Barroso said they believed a successful deal was still possible, despite several missed deadlines.
