Bush to press Berlusconi on Iran and Afghanistan

By Matt Spetalnick and Stephen Brown

ROME (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush will urge Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as an old ally on Thursday to take a tougher stand over Iran's nuclear program and expand Italy's military role in Afghanistan.

Bush, on the third stop of a week-long farewell tour of European capitals, can expect a warm welcome from Berlusconi, a fellow conservative back in office this year as Italy's prime minister for a third time.

But beyond the smiles and handshakes, Bush will be looking for concrete signs that Berlusconi, whose previous government supported the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, is bringing Italy's foreign policy back closer in line with Washington's.

Bush has limited leverage, however, to get European partners to further isolate Tehran and boost troop levels in Afghanistan.

Europeans are increasingly looking past him to his successor who will be chosen in the November U.S. presidential election.

Berlusconi's admiration for Bush runs counter to public sentiment in Europe where he is widely reviled for the Iraq war.

While Berlusconi and Pope Benedict prepared to roll out the red carpet for Bush over the next two days, about a thousand leftists and anti-war activists staged a peaceful protest in the centre of Rome after his arrival on Wednesday.

Bush's bid to ratchet up pressure on Iran over its nuclear program is expected to be high on the agenda with Berlusconi, as it has been since the start of his European trip on Monday.

MILITARY ACTION

He is stressing diplomacy but said on Wednesday after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin that "all options are on the table", alluding to military action as a last resort to stop Iran's nuclear program.

The West fears Iran's uranium enrichment activities could be used to build a nuclear bomb. Iran says its program is only for power generation to meet the needs of its oil-rich economy.

Italy, one of Iran's top foreign investors, could have an impact should the European Union carry out a threat to impose new measures on Tehran beyond existing U.N. sanctions if it keeps defying demands to stop uranium enrichment.

Washington had urged the centre-left government of Berlusconi's predecessor Romano Prodi to take a harder line with Italian companies doing business in Iran but to little avail.

Signalling a stronger stance, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said in a television interview the "path of sanctions should be resumed more firmly than ever" if Tehran rejected a revised incentives package it would soon be offered.

Bush wants a firmer commitment from Berlusconi to the war effort in Afghanistan. He has pressed NATO allies, so far with limited results, to increase troop levels and lift bans on deployment of forces to places where fighting is fiercest.