By Matt Spetalnick and Stephen Brown
ROME (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush will askItalian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Thursday to take atougher stand on Iran's nuclear programme and respond to U.S.calls for NATO troops to play a bigger role in Afghanistan.
Bush got a cool reception in Italy, with about 2,000 peopleprotesting on Wednesday and a handful chanting "Bush, go home"when he visited Rome's American Academy on Thursday.
Complaining at "misinformation and propaganda" about theUnited States, he told local entrepreneurs: "The best diplomacyfor America, particularly among young folks, is to welcome youto our country."
On the third stop of a farewell tour of Europe, Bush canexpect a warmer welcome from his old ally Berlusconi -- backfor a third term as Italy's premier -- when they meet at 1600GMT.
Bush will look for signs that Berlusconi, who backed theU.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, will align Italy closer withWashington. But his leverage to isolate Iran and get moretroops for Afghanistan is limited in Europe, where he isreviled for the Iraq war, and where people are looking beyondNovember's U.S. election.
Bush's bid to ratchet up pressure on Iran over its nuclearprogramme is expected to be high on the agenda with Berlusconi.
The West fears Iran's uranium enrichment activities couldbe used to build a nuclear bomb. Iran says its programme isonly for power generation to meet the needs of its growingeconomy.
Bush is stressing diplomacy but said after talks withGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday "all options areon the table". Asked about the military option by Frenchtelevision, he said: "Yes, it's still there."
"OBSTINATE" TACTIC
U.S. and European leaders must "continue to send thatmessage to the Iranian leadership that you're isolated, you'llcontinue to get pressured unless you verifiably suspend yourenrichment programme", Bush said.
In Iran, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Bush's"unilateral and obstinate approach ... does not change thereality of the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear activities".
"By such false comments, Bush cannot make up for hisprevious mistakes in the short period of time remaining of hispresidency," Mohammad Ali Hosseini told IRNA news agency.
Former U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix, at a meetingof the Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe inRome, said Bush's stance on Iran was "counter-productive" andwas "more likely to strengthen ranks in Iran ... "
Italy is one of Iran's top foreign investors and Washingtonhad urged Berlusconi's centre-left predecessor to be tougher onItalian companies doing business in Iran, to little avail.
The new foreign minister, Franco Frattini, signals a harderline, saying sanctions should be revived if Tehran rejected arevised incentives package it would soon be offered.
But Italian papers said Bush may not be able to rewardItaly with a place on the "5 plus 1" group of powers dealingwith Iran -- five permanent U.N. Security Council members plusGermany.
Bush also wants a firmer commitment from Italy to the wareffort in Afghanistan and has pressed NATO allies, with limitedsuccess, to increase troop levels and lift bans on deploymentof forces to places where fighting is fiercest.
Italy has 2,700 troops in Afghanistan but like France,Spain and Germany has been reluctant to send them to the morevolatile south and east, causing tension with NATO allies andWashington.
Berlusconi's new government says it favours helping NATO byagreeing to "limited" deployment to combat zones.
Bush will visit the Vatican on Friday before travelling toParis, London and Northern Ireland.
(Additional reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky and Robin Pomeroyin Rome and Zahra Hosseinian in Tehran; Writing by MattSpetalnick and Stephen Brown; Editing by Catherine Evans)
