(Reuters).Time is running out for Iran to avoid sanctions over its nuclear program, a White House spokesman said on Thursday, and Tehran's deadline is still the end of the year for responding to international demands.
"Time is running out. That deadline is the end of the year," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters in a news briefing.
Earlier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Iran is testing the international community's patience over its nuclear program and further sanctions must be considered if it does not cooperate with the West.
After meeting Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Berlin, Merkel said that Brazil, the United States and European powers shared a desire for Iran to show transparency and cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
"We are pursuing two tracks: on the one hand making Iran offers for a good, common development," she told a joint news conference with Lula. "But on the other hand, we are also saying if that is not the case -and our patience is being sorely tested - then new sanctions must be considered."
"Time is running out. That deadline is the end of the year," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters in a news briefing.
Earlier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Iran is testing the international community's patience over its nuclear program and further sanctions must be considered if it does not cooperate with the West.
After meeting Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Berlin, Merkel said that Brazil, the United States and European powers shared a desire for Iran to show transparency and cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
"We are pursuing two tracks: on the one hand making Iran offers for a good, common development," she told a joint news conference with Lula. "But on the other hand, we are also saying if that is not the case -and our patience is being sorely tested - then new sanctions must be considered."
