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FRANKFURT-Countries leading the drive to resolve concerns about Iran's nuclear program welcomed the new U.S. administration's readiness to engage with Tehran as they met Wednesday, a German official said.Foreign Ministry officials from Germany and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council-Britain, China, France, Russia and the U.S.-met in Wiesbaden, near Frankfurt, for their first meeting since President Barack Obama took office.The new U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Susan Rice, has said Obama's administration will engage in "direct diplomacy" with Iran. In his inaugural address, Obama addressed leaders of hostile nations by saying that "we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.""The readiness of the new administration to reach out to Iran was explicitly welcomed by all at today's meeting in Wiesbaden," German Foreign Ministry spokesman Jens Ploetner said at a government news conference in Berlin.He underlined Germany's hopes that Iran will respond positively to the new overtures from Washington."We hope that this outstretched hand will not be seen as a sign of weakness in Tehran," he said.Ploetner said Wednesday's meeting offered "an important opportunity to stress again the cohesion and the unity" of the six nations.The U.S. was represented at Wednesday's closed-doors meeting by the State Department's third-ranking official, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns-a career diplomat who also served under the Bush administration.The six nations have offered Iran a package of incentives if it suspends uranium enrichment and enters into talks on its nuclear program. At the same time, the U.N. Security Council has imposed sanctions to pressure Iran to comply.The U.S. and its allies allege that Iran wants to develop its uranium enrichment program to make nuclear weapons. However, Iran insists it is only seeking nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.Iran launched an Omid satellite on Monday-arousing concern among analysts and officials in Europe, the U.S. and Israel about possible links between its satellite program and its work with missiles and nuclear technology.As in the days of Noah...
