Leaders urge Iran to accept uranium deal

TEHRAN, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- International leaders urged Iran to respond quickly to a uranium enrichment proposal after the International Atomic Energy Agency extended a deadline again.

"We both want to see a prompt response from the Iranian regime in respect of the Tehran research reactor proposal," Miliband said Monday during a news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.

Miliband said IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei gave Iran another 48 hours "to come up with a serious response," CNN reported.

The draft, supported by the United States, France and Russia, calls for Iran to ship low-enriched uranium to another country, possibly Russia, for refinement. The material would be returned to Iran usable for civilian purposes.

Tehran counter-proposed that its uranium be enriched in-country by a third country supervised by IAEA, ElBaradei said. Iran also suggested shipping uranium in several shipments, not all at once.

In his final speech before the U.N. General Assembly Monday, ElBaradei said Iran needs "to be as forthcoming as possible in responding soon to my recent proposal ... aimed to engage Iran in a series of measures that could build confidence and trust, and open the way for comprehensive and substantive dialogue between Iran and the international community."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Iran's decision on the offer was critical, the Iranian government-supported Press TV reported.

Clinton said the deal won't be altered, Voice of America said.

"It is the proposal that they agreed to in principal, so that we can move forward and work with Iran on a full range of issues including, but not limited to, their nuclear program," she said.