US won't reply to Iran letter, wants real progress on nuclear issue

Tue May 9, 7:18 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States said it will make no formal response to a surprise letter sent by Iran's hardline leader, but President George W. Bush vowed to pursue diplomatic efforts to counter Iran's nuclear programme.

As Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Indonesia, during which he could ask Jakarta to mediate in the nuclear row, Tehran said it was waiting for a reply to his 18-page letter to Bush.

But the White House insisted there would be no response on top of comments already made by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who said it contained "nothing new" that offered hope of resolving the nuclear dispute.

Although a New York meeting Tuesday of foreign ministers from the world's six major powers failed to agree on how to tackle Tehran, Rice said: "The international community is united that there must be a strong message to Iran through the Security Council that their behavior to date is unacceptable."

International oil prices edged up again following the US rejection of the letter.

Iran has refused to meet international demands to end its uranium enrichment work, which Washington and its allies believe hides a nuclear weapons drive. Tehran insists its research is for peaceful purposes.

The United States, Britain and France want a resolution under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which would probably start with a warning to Iran that could be followed up with economic sanctions and even military action.

But China and Russia have spoken out strongly against coercive measures, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reaffirming the divide on Tuesday.

"Our position is very firm. We think that at this stage there is no necessity to discuss Chapter 7," Lavrov was quoted as saying by Russia's Interfax news agency.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who was at the New York meeting, said the process of agreeing a UN resolution on Iran could take up to two more weeks.

Bush said that even China and Russia agreed that Iran must not be allowed to have a bomb, but that he was determined to seek a negotiated settlement rather than launching more coercive measures.

"The first option and the most important option is diplomacy," he said during an appearance in Florida when asked about the Iran dispute by a member of the public.

The letter from Ahmadinejad was the first from an Iranian leader to a US president in more than a quarter century, and called for "new ways" to settle long-running tensions that have reached a new peak over the nuclear dispute.

Tehran portrayed the letter as an important diplomatic initiative, but US officials dismissed the document as more philosophical treatise than political overture.

In the letter, Ahmadinejad assailed the United States over Iraq, its reaction to the September 11, 2001 attacks, the handling of "war on terror" detainees and even US policy in Latin America.

He suggested that the two countries return to religious principles as a means of restoring confidence. "Will you not accept this invitation?" asked Ahmadinejad in the letter.

"There is nothing in this letter that in any way addresses any of the issues really that are on the table in the international community," Rice said.

Ahmadinejad meanwhile took his campaign to Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation.

He was greeted early Wednesday amid tight security by Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda and about two dozen officials.

The Iranian leader made no comment before leaving for his Jakarta hotel. But Wirayuda, asked if Iran's nuclear program would be raised in talks, said: "Certainly it will be discussed, it's an important issue."

Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Desra Percaya said Indonesia could "play the role of a middleman" between Iran and the West.

The Iranian leader will fly to the island of Bali on Friday to attend a meeting of the Developing-8 (D-8) group of large Muslim countries.

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