Letters

That didn't work out so well... GLOBAL IMPACT: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who reasserted Iran's right to peaceful atomic energy in a letter to President Bush, spoke in Tehran Sunday. HOSEIN FATEMI/FARS NEWS/REUTERS

US, Iran standoff grows tenser Despite rare letter, Washington sees no reason to engage Tehran as the UN considers action.

The Council on Foreign Relations has obtained, translated and made available a copy of the letter, which can be found here (.pdf).

This letter from Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to U.S. president George W. Bush, obtained by cfr.org, is presumed to be the first contact from an Iranian president to a U.S. leader since the 1979 revolution in Iran. The 8-page letter's accuracy was confirmed by official sources, though an official translation is still forthcoming. In it, Amadinejad calls in to question U.S. actions in Iraq, its relationship with Israel, human rights and the role of religion in foreign policy matters, and the right to nuclear research