New York, Oct. 5 : U. S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice on Sunday warned that Iran had to move quickly to prove its nuclear program was for peaceful purposes.

"If it doesn''t, time is short," Rice said on NBC''s "Meet the Press."

"We''re not interested in talking for talking sake. We''re not interested in interminable negotiations. They have to demonstrate conclusively that their program is for peaceful purposes," she added.

Asked what sanctions could Iran expect if it refused to come clean on its nuclear program, Rice said: "There are a range of sanctions under consideration. There are those that we might pursue multilaterally, in the context of the (United Nations) Security Council. There are others that we could do - outside of the Security Council with partners in Europe and elsewhere. And then there are those that we can take by ourselves unilaterally. There''s a wide range."

Rice conceded that economic sanctions would be considered, but stressed that's only "option. But right now we are in a period of intense negotiations. It''s not - it''s not an infinite period. It''s a very finite period."

As for deadlines, Rice said the Iranians "will meet October 19th, at the expert level, to discuss the Tehran research reactor. That''s an important step. . The Iranians have also said that they will come back to the table within the month of October." (ANI)