WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- The United States and Germany said Thursday that their patience to Iran "is not endless," urging Tehran to accept a UN-backed draft deal over its nuclear program.

    "This is a pivotal moment for Iran, and we urge Iran to accept the agreement as proposed," said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after meeting with her German counterpart Guido Westerwelle.

    "We will not alter it, and we will not wait forever," said the secretary.

    "We are pressing Iran together in our support of the recent proposal to provide new fuel for the Tehran research reactor in exchange for Iran shipping out its low-enriched uranium," said Clinton, referring a deal brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

    Under the plan, which has been agreed by the United States, Russia and France, about 70 percent of Iran's enriched uranium would be shipped abroad in exchange for fuel robs for research use.

    The Iranian government has asked the UN nuclear watchdog to take "technical and economic considerations" into the plan, but has not showed its official reply.

    Echoing Clinton's remark, the German foreign minister said Berlin has been pursuing a "dual-track approach" to Iran. "On the one hand, we are ready to enter into a dialogue, to pursue that dialogue, to have negotiations, to talk to the Iranians."

    "On the one hand, it's equally clear that our patience is not endless. We very much hope that our offer to pursue a dialogue is accepted, but we also want to see good results," said Westerwelle.

    The United States, its European allies and Israel claim that Iran's nuclear program is aimed at developing nuclear weapons, while the UN Security Council also requires Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment activity.

    However, Iran insists that its nuclear plan is only for peaceful purposes, and continues its uranium enrichment activity despite the pressure from the Western countries as well as relevant UN resolutions and sanctions.