US says Iranian President's letter fails to address nuclear impass

Washington, May 9 (UNI) The White House has confirmed receiving an 18-page letter from the Iranian president that President Bush's spokesman said failed to address international concerns over the Islamic county's nuclear ambitions.

Bush was briefed of the contents of what was the first publicly announced personal communication from an Iranian president to his US counterpart since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Speaking to reporters yesterday while traveling on Air Force One with Bush to Florida, White House spokesman Scott McClellan confirmed receipt of the letter.

''It doesn't appear to do anything to address the concerns of the international community,'' McClellan told reporters. ''There are a number of concerns that the international community has with the regime and the letter doesn't appear to do anything to address those concerns.'' The United Nations Security Council is reviewing the Iranian nuclear issue, but the body is divided over how hard to press Iran and whether to impose sanctions or other punishment if Tehran refuses to stop sensitive nuclear activities.

Reports quoted skeptical US officials as saying that the letter from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may have been timed to influence a UN Security Council debate as Washington seeks support from allies for tougher action on Tehran but faces resistance to sanctions from China and Russia.

The first reactions from Washington were not positive. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice dismissed the letter, saying it did not seriously address the standoff over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme.

Rice said in an interview with The Associated Press that the letter from Ahmadinejad covered history, philosophy and religion. It was not a diplomatic opening, she said.

''This letter isn't it. This letter is not the place that one would find an opening to engage on the nuclear issue or anything of the sort,'' Rice said.

''It isn't addressing the issues that we're dealing with in a concrete way.'' Rice's comments, made in New York hours before she was to confer on Iran with other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, were the most detailed response from the United States to the letter.

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