Bush, Sarkozy seek united front against Iran

By Matt Spetalnick and Jeremy Pelofsky

PARIS (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Saturday a nuclear-armed Iran would be a threat to peace, as they sought to end tension over Iraq and forge a common front against Tehran.

As part of Bush's farewell tour of Europe, the leaders sat down to coordinate strategy for increasing international pressure on Iran over its nuclear programme and for shoring up international assistance for war-battered Afghanistan.

Iran ruled out any suspension of uranium enrichment on Saturday after the European Union's top diplomat delivered a world powers' offer of economic incentives to persuade it to stop such work.

"I am disappointed that the Iranian leaders rejected this generous offer out of hand," Bush told a joint news conference with Sarkozy. He said European leaders understood that a nuclear-armed Iran would be a "major blow to world peace."

Sarkozy agreed, saying: "Iran obtaining the atom bomb is unacceptable". He called for a "sanctions procedure" if Tehran remains defiant.

Bush and allies he has met during his trip -- his last to Europe before he leaves office in January -- have warned Tehran of further sanctions if it continues to develop nuclear know-how that could be used in bomb-building.

Bush's warm personal bond with Sarkozy -- nicknamed "Sarko the American" -- stands in marked contrast to the chilly relationship the U.S. leader had with his predecessor, Jacques Chirac, a staunch critic of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

But Bush remains deeply unpopular in France, with many people indifferent to his visit and looking to his successor who will be elected in November.