Iran faces "moment of truth" - Rice

VIENNA, Jun 2 (Reuters) US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today said Iran faced a ''moment of truth'', with Russia and China now in full support of robust penalties for Tehran if it does not scale back its nuclear programme.

In a series of taped interviews with major American television networks and National Public Radio, Rice said the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany were hopeful Iran would take time to consider an agreement announced last night.

But while insisting she was not one to lay down deadlines, Rice repeated earlier warnings by senior U.S. officials that Tehran had a ''matter of weeks'', not months, to deliver a definitive response.

Iran is facing a ''moment of truth,'' she told CBS Television.

The United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany yesterday agreed on what officials called a ''far-reaching'' package of incentives for Iran to stop nuclear fuel work that could lead to atomic bombs, including an offer to suspend action against it in the U.N. Security Council.

Russia and China, who do not believe Iran poses an imminent threat, have been most opposed to threatening Iran with sanctions if it defies such demands.

But Rice told CNN Television, ''Russia and China have signed on to the two paths.'' She also insisted in other interviews that both paths agreed last night -- one leading Iran to international integration with incentives and another path toward isolation through various disincentives -- are ''quite robust.'' Iran has so far resisted calls that it scrap or suspend uranium enrichment -- a process that can yield bomb-grade material. Tehran says its nuclear programme has purely civilian, not military, aims.

Asked if the major power foreign ministers believed their initiative would persuade Iran to abandon its nuclear pursuits, Rice said they were hopeful ''but I wouldn't call it optimism,'' she told NPR.

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