US President George Bush warned the world Wednesday that Iran must be barred from building nuclear weapons to prevent "World War III," CNBC reported.

In Wednesday's press conference at the White House, the president also dismissed a rift in US-Russian relations over the crisis.

"I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them (Iran) from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon," Bush said.

Bush's remarks came hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for talks in Tehran.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, meanwhile told AFP he would meet with with the European Union's foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Tuesday in Rome to search for a solution to the atomic standoff.

In Washington, Bush warned the world it must do more to prevent Iran from expanding its nuclear program.

"We've got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel," Bush said. "So I've told people that, if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."

Iranian officials told AFP that President Putin helped move toward a break in the deadlock over the Islamic republic's nuclear program. Officials refused to comment further on the summit. Bush told reporters yesterday he is waiting to hear from Putin about the talks.

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