President Bush said he would press Russia and China to cooperate in expanding sanctions against Iran. “My view is that we need to strengthen our sanction regime,” Bush said Thursday in a press conference. “I just spoke to Condoleezza Rice,” his secretary of state, “and we will work with our European partners to develop further sanctions. And, of course, I will discuss this issue with Vladimir Putin, as well as President Hu Jintao,” the Russian and Chinese leaders, respectively. The U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions on Iran in December because of its failure to roll back its enrichment of uranium, a key step in developing weapons. It has been considering an expansion of sanctions since March, after U.N. inspectors reported that Iran was likely expanding its program, an assertion confirmed in recent weeks. China and Russia, both veto-wielding members of the Security Council, have resisted sanctions expansion. Iran denies its enrichment is for a weapons program.
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