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VIENNA -- Iran edged toward a landmark agreement with the U.S. and other powers that would curb its nuclear program, but it remained unclear whether Tehran's leadership would give the deal its final blessing.

Iran has until Friday to sign the proposed agreement that would require it to export most of the uranium it holds that could be used to produce a nuclear bomb. Iranian diplomats and delegations from the U.S., Russia and France hashed out the deal this week over three days of often contentious talks at the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency.

Iran's lead representative to the talks, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said the draft agreement was "on the right track," but cautioned that his country's leadership had yet to endorse it. "We have to thoroughly study this text," he said.

"The door is open to a better future for Iran, but the process of engagement cannot be open-ended," said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. "We are not prepared to talk just for the sake of talking."

Under the proposed deal, Iran would ship most of its nuclear fuel to Russia, where it would be processed for use in a medical research reactor. The amount, about 1,200 kilograms, or 2,600 pounds, of low-enriched uranium, is significant because it is more than the 1,000 kilograms of low-enriched uranium to build a bomb. The U.S., Israel and other nations have said that Tehran will be capable of building a nuclear wea... >>>