U.N. Deadline Looms For Iran Nukes

Russian and German leaders urged Iran to fulfill its international nuclear obligations Thursday, with one day remaining before a U.N. Security Council deadline for Iran to stop enriching uranium.

Meanwhile, a group of exiled Iranians says the Tehran regime will have all the plutonium it needs to build a bomb by the end of 2007, reports CBS News correspondent Elaine Cobbe.

Iran's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad again vowed that no one could make Tehran give up its nuclear technology, and he warned that the United States and its European allies will regret their decision if they "violate the rights of the Iranian nation."

"The Iranian nation has acquired nuclear fuel production technology. It didn't get assistance from anybody and nobody can take it back," Ahmadinejad told thousands of people in western Iran.

Also Thursday, an Israeli newspaper reported that Israel's military intelligence chief, Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, says Iran has received a first batch of BM-25 surface-to-surface missiles that put European countries within firing range. Haaretz daily quoted Yadlin as saying the missiles, purchased from North Korea, have a range of 1,500 miles and are capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters in the Siberian city of Tomsk that the crisis over Iran's nuclear program could be resolved only through diplomacy.

"It's still too early to run ahead and say what decision we might take together," Putin said. "The main thing is ... that whatever decision is taken is a consensus decision."

Both leaders said Iran must adhere to its international obligations but did not elaborate.

The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, will present a report Friday on Iran's implementation of the Security Council demand. Uranium enrichment can produce fuel for nuclear power or material for nuclear warheads.

If Iran does not comply, the Security Council is likely to consider punitive measures against the Islamic republic. Russia and China, however, have been reluctant to endorse sanctions.

Iran has thus far rejected the demand and issued its toughest warning on the issue Tuesday. Nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said that if the Security Council imposes sanctions, Iran would stop cooperating with the IAEA and conceal its nuclear activities.

"Our position is clear and well known. We are for the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction," Putin said. "But we believe that Iran must have an opportunity to develop modern technologies and peaceful nuclear energy."

In Paris Thursday, National Council of Resistance of Iran claimed Iran is shifting its nuclear activities between military sites in order to hide it from international inspectors, reports Cobbe. The Tehran regime will never abandon nuclear weapons "because it considers the nuclear weapons to be a strategic guarantee for its survival," said spokesman Mohammad Mohaddessin.

"They are working for an Islamic empire by obtaining nuclear weapons and by dominating the Iraqi situation," he said.

The exiles say they're not in favor of bombing Iran's nuclear facilities and called on the U.S. to seek regime change rather than war.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called for a diplomatic resolution.

"We are very interested for the world community, as it has been from the start, to work together and show Iran that we want to work by diplomatic methods," she said. "But it is necessary for Iran to keep to the agreements that it has committed itself to."

"We are not talking about banning Iran from using nuclear energy for civilian goals, but it must keep to its obligations and agreements," Merkel added.

China's Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, stressed the need for restraint as the crisis reached a crucial stage.

"We hope the relevant parties can keep calm and exercise restraint so as to avoid moves that would further escalate the situation," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang.

Qin said the problem can still be "resolved through dialogue and diplomatic means, which is the correct choice for all parties concerned."

Israeli security officials confirmed the Haaretz report about the Iranian missiles.

Yadlin has warned of the new Iranian missiles in several recent interviews to the media. Iran already has missiles capable of reaching Israel, but the BM-25 missiles are a significant upgrade over its existing top-of-the-line missiles — the Shihab-4 and Shihab-3.

Those missiles spurred Israel to develop its Arrow 2 anti-ballistic missile system, which can intercept the Iranian missiles.

Israeli concerns have been heightened in recent months by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's calls to wipe Israel "off the map."