Bush on farewell Europe tour seeks to pressure Iran

By William Schomberg and Matt Spetalnick

LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush goes into his farewell European summit on Tuesday seeking to work with allies to ratchet up pressure on Iran over its nuclear programme but still at odds with them over climate change.

Bush is due to meet European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Janez Jansa, prime minister of current European Union president Slovenia, before he heads off to the capitals of Europe's four biggest powers.

Washington and European governments have played down the chance of dramatic announcements during the visit, which comes in the twilight of a presidency marked by fierce opposition from many Europeans to the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

Divisions over Iraq have eased somewhat, even as Europeans look increasingly past Bush to his successor who will be chosen in the November election.

Despite that, a draft of the summit statement obtained by Reuters showed the United States and EU were ready to threaten extra measures against Iran on top of U.N. sanctions if Tehran keeps defying demands to suspend sensitive nuclear work.

The U.N. Security Council passed a third sanctions package against Tehran in April, and Washington has pressed the EU to deny some Iranian banks access to the world financial system.

EU diplomats have said recently the bloc was prepared to go beyond the approved sanctions, citing previous travel bans and asset freezes on Iranian officials.