Officials say president will press Putin on Iran

KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine -- President Bush, seeking to change the tone of an increasingly caustic, fraught relationship with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, will press him today to support a major escalation of economic pressure against Iran, senior administration officials said.

The administration recently discussed for the first time with Russia and other members of the UN Security Council a proposal that would require all nations to inspect cargo for illicit nuclear-related shipments or arms that enter their ports from Iran or are destined for the country.

The discussion took place by telephone, and the United States was represented by R. Nicholas Burns, the undersecretary of state.

While the inspection regimen is cast as a preventative measure, American officials know that, like a proposed asset freeze on a number of Iranian banks, its true effect could be to slow the Iranian economy drastically.

Two successive resolutions at the Security Council have resulted in less punitive actions against Iran, with only modest economic effect.

None has achieved the Security Council's goal: to force the country to suspend its uranium enrichment.

While Bush is not expected to discuss the specifics of the American plan with Putin, a senior official, who would not speak for attribution, said that Bush is increasingly intent on stopping an Iranian nuclear program, which the International Atomic Energy Agency has concluded is making significant progress.

"He will make the point that this is the third set of sanctions against Iran, and now we have to make them really count," the official said.

For the Americans, the effort to squeeze Iran is the most immediate issue on the table.