US dismisses Iran leader's letter

A letter from Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the US president will not ease the row over Tehran's nuclear programme, US officials have said.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said there was nothing new in it, while a White House spokesman said it failed to address international concerns.

It comes as Ms Rice hosts talks between foreign ministers of the UN Security Council and Germany in New York.

China said it feared a UN resolution against Iran could lead to war.

An initial meeting between the foreign ministers took place on Monday evening.

Officials said the talks were strategic, and not an attempt to agree on a UN Security Council resolution. They will continue on Tuesday.

Speaking before the meeting, Beijing's ambassador to the UN, Wang Guangya, said any threat of possible future sanctions or military action against Iran should be eliminated from the proposed UN motion.

But he said a resolution was necessary, as Iran had failed to cooperate with the UN and its nuclear agency, the IAEA.

'No breakthrough'

The letter from Mr Ahmadinejad - thought to be the first from an Iranian president to a US leader since Iran's 1979 revolution - was dispatched via the Swiss embassy in Tehran on Monday.

In it, he proposed "new solutions for getting out of international problems and the current fragile situation of the world", Iranian officials said on Monday. [BBC News]

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