The Iranian President’s 18-page letter was delivered to Mr Bush via the Swiss Embassy in Tehran. In his letter, Mr Amadinejad proposed new solutions for tackling international problems and current fragile situations around the world. Mr Amadinejad's letter is the first time than an Iranian President has written to an American leader since the two countries broke relations in April 1980. The Swiss Government has taken the role of representing US interests in Iran since 1981 and acted as a bridge transferring messages between the two countries.

According to analysts, the Iranian President’s letter to US President Bush is considered a positive act by Tehran towards the international community’s desire to conduct direct negotiations between Iran and the US.

Several weeks ago, representatives from the US and Iran met to discuss Iraq’s issues. It was expected that Iran’s nuclear dispute would also be mentioned. However, the meeting did not reach any remarkable results regarding both Iran and Iraq issues.

Last week, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan affirmed that the US and Iran should hold direct discussions on the nuclear issue. Nevertheless, the two countries did not show any interest in Mr Annan’s suggestion. In such a context, the Iranian President’s letter to US President Bush is a very bold step to ease tensions between the two countries. Cairo University political scientist Amal Hamada said that if there is a chance of direct communication between US and Iranian leaders, there will be new hopes of seeking new solutions for the issues. “I think that any kind of direct communication is significant after Washington and Tehran cut off diplomatic ties 26 years ago,” he said.

Expert Josef Cirincion from the US External Relations Council said: “We have diplomatic activities to seek peaceful solutions for the issue. The US administration has directly negotiated with Libya and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Why doesn’t the US hold negotiations with Iran before proposing military attacks and sanctions?”

Expert Ted Carpenter of the Cato Political Institute said that the US should make concessions to Iran to ease rather than inflame the crisis, which will make it more complicated. “The US should offer a normalisation of diplomatic ties with Iran, remove financial sanctions and resume economic relations with Iran. In return, Iran will show its goodwill to co-operate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and allow inspection work to demonstrate that Iran’s nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes, not for nuclear weapons.

However, the US has expressed a rather negative response to Iran’s sudden move. The White House announced that the letter digressed from the subject and could not change the US’s attitude towards Iran. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice swiftly rejected the letter, saying it made no progress toward resolving questions about Tehran's suspect nuclear programme that has raised great concerns in the US. Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John Negroponte affirmed that Mr Amadinejad's letter to President Bush could be an attempt to influence the UN Security Council debate on Iran's nuclear programme. At present, the US is still seeking ways to persuade governments, banks and European companies to isolate the Iranian Government by imposing financial sanctions. Most recently, the US has announced that it will find ways to approve the draft sanctions against Iran although it may not get the acceptance of Russia and China.

Though the Iranian President’s letter is not a proposal for direct negotiations, it partly expresses Iran’s goodwill. However, the disrespect from the US may prevent the letter from reaching its goal of easing tensions between the US and Iran.