Rice says no time for delay for UN Iran statement

Washinton, Mar 24: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said there is no time for delay or stalling by the UN Security Council in agreeing on a statement aimed at reining in Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Asked if the major powers were any closer to agreeing on a message to Iran, which could break a UN impasse on the issue, Rice told reporters, ''There is no time for delay in taking up this issue.'' ''We need to have this statement and to make clear to the Iranians that the international community is united in demanding that Iran return to a posture that is consistent with its international commitments,'' she said after talks with Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyanni yesterday.

After two weeks of haggling over an initial UN Security Council reaction to Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program, Britain, France and the United States have been so far unable to get support from Russia and China, the other two veto-holding Security Council nations, on a draft statement they had proposed.

Reuters