Rice made her remarks on a U.S. morning show.
"There are many diplomatic steps yet to be taken. First of all, we will continue to pursue the Security Council resolution, and we're going to have action in the UN," she said. "It's only a matter of time, and we thought two weeks was not too long to wait."
Rice described the Iranian government as "the central banker of terrorism," and said it cannot be allowed to get a nuclear weapon.
Meanwhile, in Jakarta, visiting Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad today again defended his country's nuclear program, saying it is only intended for peaceful purposes.
In Washington, U.S. President George W. Bush said a letter sent to him by Ahmadinejad failed to address international concerns about Iran's nuclear activities.
In Bush's words, the letter did not answer the question, "When will you get rid of your nuclear program?"
The letter's existence emerged on May 8 in what is believed to be the first presidential contact between the two
countries in 27 years.
(compiled from agency reports)