Impatient G8 sets Iran deadline over nuclear

By Emmanuel Jarry and Jeff Mason

L'AQUILA, Italy (Reuters) - Major powers in the Group of Eight will give negotiations with Iran a chance until September, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Wednesday, upping the stakes in a dispute over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

Speaking after talks with fellow G8 leaders, Sarkozy said they would review the situation at a G20 meeting of developed and developing countries in Pittsburgh on September 24 and 25.

"If there is no progress by then we will have to take decisions," said Sarkozy, indicating that tougher sanctions might be imposed if Tehran continued to resist negotiations.

A White House deputy national security adviser, Mike Froman, told reporters the G8 discussions had reflected "a collective impatience with Iran," which Western countries believe is trying to build an atomic bomb.

In a separate statement, the G8 said it was committed to finding a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear program.

Tehran has so far rejected Western overtures for talks, saying it wants to master nuclear technology only to generate electricity and has repeatedly rejected demands freezing its sensitive uranium enrichment work.

"We sincerely hope that Iran will seize this opportunity to give diplomacy a chance to find a negotiated solution to the nuclear issue," the G8 statement said.

"At the same time we remain deeply concerned over proliferation risks posed by Iran's nuclear program."