By DAVID RISING and DESMOND BUTLER, Associated Press Writers David Rising And Desmond Butler, Associated Press Writers – 1 hr 4 mins ago
MUNICH – Iran's claims to be close to an agreement on its nuclear program have yet to be backed up by any concrete actions, top Western officials said Saturday, and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said it may be time to take a "different tack" with Tehran.
U.S. and European officials at a gathering of the world's top defense officials in Munich rejected statements from Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki late Friday that Tehran was "approaching a final agreement."
Mottaki pointed out that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad earlier this week suggested he would at last agree to export a significant amount of low-enriched uranium for processing, to be returned as refined fuel rods that can power reactors but cannot be readily turned into weapons-grade material.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, whose country has joined the five permanent U.N. Security Council members in negotiations with Tehran, dismissed Mottaki's comments as nothing new. He said Iran has been offered a reasonable proposal to defuse the standoff.
"If it's not more than we heard yesterday, then I have to say unfortunately this is not a new transparency," Westerwelle said. "It does not mean there is a change — that is the situation and we have to face it."
During a visit to Ankara, Turkey, Gates suggested Washington was losing its patience with Iran.
"The reality is they've done nothing to assure the international community" or "to stop their progress toward (building) a nuclear weapon," Gates said.
"And therefore various nations need to think about whether it is time for a different tack."
On the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Mottaki met with International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano behind closed doors Saturday. Afterward, Mottaki told reporters the two had discussed the details of the export proposal, but he did not mention any tangible progress.
He reiterated his comments of the night before, saying he sees "the situation as positive for reaching an understanding."
The U.N. is considering a fourth round of sanctions against Iran for failing to rein in its nuclear ambitions.
U.S. national security adviser Ret. Gen. James Jones, spoke of Iran's continued "puzzling defiance" to Western demands that it freeze its uranium enrichment program. He said that negotiators have been seeking to persuade Iran to take a new course.
"We have not seen indications that it is willing to do so at this time," he said.
Tehran maintains its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes, such as electricity production, but Western powers are concerned Iran is trying to build an atomic weapon.
"Iran is the only country in the region that has publicly declared its intent to destroy another country in the region," Gates told reporters in Turkey, in reference to Iran's threats to Israel. If Iran proceeds with this program "unrestrained," there is a "real danger of proliferation" that would destabilize the region, he added.
Iran now possesses more than enough enriched uranium for at least one nuclear warhead. The agreement worked out by the IAEA would delay Tehran's ability to make such a weapon by requiring the country to export 70 percent of its uranium stock and then wait for up to a year for it to be processed and returned as fuel rods for the research reactor.
Iran has stopped short of accepting the agreement in its entirety, offering a shorter turnaround time for return of the fuel rods. On Friday, Mottaki indicated that Iran would insist on determining the amount of uranium that would be involved.
Jones emphasized that Iran is running out of time before the Security Council considers sanctions.
German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg dismissed Mottaki's comments as a "transparent play for time."
Despite talk of sanctions, China, a permanent member of the Security Council with veto power continues to resist that course.
On Friday, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told participants at the Munich forum that China believed patience and further diplomatic efforts were called for.
EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said that Iran's response has "so far gone without adequate response."
"I agree with the Chinese foreign minister that the possibilities of dialogue are not exhausted, but dialogue takes two," she said.
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