The United States remained reluctant to have direct talks with hostile Iran on Thursday, insisting there are many ways for communication between Washington and Tehran.

"Our view at this point is that there are plenty of channels of communication if the Iranians want to pass information to us or we want to pass information to them," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said at a news briefing.

The spokesman also said that problems that Iran has right now is not just between the United States and Iran.

"The concerns about Iran's nuclear program, the concerns about their support for terrorism, the concerns about the treatment of their own people, these are global concerns.... This Iranian regime would like to turn it into a U.S.-Iran issue, but it's just not the case," McCormack said.

Washington has been accusing Tehran, among others, of developing secretly nuclear weapons, but it refuses to have negotiation with the Islamic Repbulic.

The Bush administration is facing pressure both in the United States and overseas to drop its long-standing refusal to talk directly with Iran about its nuclear program, particularly in the wake of the unusual 18-page letter sent this week to President Bush by Iran's president.