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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Ahmadinejad sends letter to Bush |
| 2006-05-08 |
| Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has written to George W Bush proposing "new solutions" to their differences. The letter will be sent via the Swiss Embassy which represents US interests in Iran, a government spokesman said. Mr Ahmadinejad proposes "new solutions for getting out of international problems and current fragile situation of the world", he said. Reports say it is the first letter from an Iranian president to a US leader since the Iranian revolution in 1979. The spokesman, Gholam-Hossein Elham, did not say whether the letter mentioned the nuclear dispute, currently one of the major issues between Iran and the US. The US has accused Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons - a charge Iran strongly denies. Last week, the US tabled a draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council calling on Iran to suspend uranium enrichment or face "further action". Foreign ministers of the council members plus Germany are due to meet in New York on Monday night to discuss how to proceed with Iran. Significant timing Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told Iran's Isna news agency that once Mr Bush had received the letter, the contents would be made public. The BBC's Frances Harrison in Tehran says whatever is in the letter, it is significant because it is the first such high-level communication between Iran and America for almost three decades. As such it is a bold step by Mr Ahmadinejad, and the timing is key - just as the West is trying to persuade Russia and China to back tough action against Iran, she says. Mr Ahmadinejad is reinforcing the point that he is willing to negotiate with anyone, including the US president, to avoid conflict over the nuclear issue, our correspondent adds. The US and Iran have not had diplomatic relations since Washington severed ties with Tehran after Iranian students occupied the US embassy there and took 52 Americans hostage in 1980. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #9 18 pages of Mahmoud's rambling dream sequences where the hidden Immam speaks from the bottom of a well (It puts the lotion in the basket)and tells Mahmoud he's a nail in Mohammad's coffin. Or some kind of nail. Anyway, none of it makes any sense. Ask Condi. |
| Posted by: Thinemp Whimble2412 2006-05-08 18:18 |
| #8 Link to story |
| Posted by: Oztralian 2006-05-08 18:06 |
| #7 White House: Iran's letter not a nuclear fix |
| Posted by: Oztralian 2006-05-08 18:06 |
| #6 "Dear unclean infidel dog..."? http://jihadwatch.org/ |
| Posted by: Duh! 2006-05-08 13:41 |
| #5 Dear |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2006-05-08 13:31 |
| #4 1979: Hostages seized at US embassy in Tehran BBC screwed up the date, forgets lying is the national pastime in Iran. |
| Posted by: Inspector Clueso 2006-05-08 10:00 |
| #3 But probably it will have the effect he wants. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-05-08 08:12 |
| #2 AhMad trying to split the Euros from US at UNSC. Such a lame gesture. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2006-05-08 08:02 |
| #1 I was thinking we would be trying new solutions with Iran myself... |
| Posted by: Hupailing Ebbuns2352 2006-05-08 06:46 |