White House receives Iran letter, concerns remain

Fort Lauderdale, Fla., May 9: The White House received an 18-page letter from Iran's president today that President George W Bush's spokesman said failed to address international concerns about Iran's nuclear ambitions.

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

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

''Certainly one of the hypotheses you'd have to examine is whether and in what way the timing of the dispatch of that letter is connected with trying in some manner to influence the debate before the Security Council,'' U.S. director of national intelligence John Negroponte told reporters in Washington.

Speaking to reporters 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,'' he 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,'' McClellan said.

The letter was sent via the Swiss Embassy in Tehran.

Switzerland acts as a go-between between the United States and Iran, which do not have diplomatic relations.

McClellan would not say whether Bush had seen the letter.

''I would just leave it at what I said: We've received it,'' McClellan said.

At the United Nations, US ambassador John Bolton said he had read the 18-page letter.

''I think it is typical of Iran that when major decisions are about to be taken ... that they have tried to throw sand in the eyes of the proponents of the action. That's what this may be,'' Bolton said.

Reuters

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