Bush willing to delay Iran sanctions

The Bush administration said today it was willing to defer seeking UN sanctions against Iran for a few weeks if there is a chance for a diplomatic resolution of a long-running dispute over Iran’s nuclear programmes.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned senior European diplomat Javier Solana today “and we do fully support his efforts” to hold talks with Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.