Bush presses German leader on Iran trade ties

MESEBERG, Germany (AFP) — US President George W. Bush was to pressure Chancellor Angela Merkel to cut Germany's business ties with Iran in talks Wednesday as he put the Iran nuclear dispute at the heart of his farewell European tour, aides said.

Bush, arriving from a US-EU summit in Slovenia, dined with Merkel on Tuesday and held a working breakfast Wednesday before a formal meeting, a press conference and a lunch at a palace near Berlin.

Other issues expected to come up included Afghanistan, peace efforts in the Middle East, moves to cut transatlantic trade barriers, the July summit of the Group of Eight industrial powers in Japan and climate change.

Germany, the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China are spearheading efforts to press Iran to halt uranium enrichment that can be used to make the material for a bomb.

The UN Security Council has slapped three ...