German Chancellor Angela Merkel heads to Moscow later today where she hopes to persuade President Vladimir Putin to join the EU and United States in ratcheting up diplomatic pressure on Iran, German officials said. On her first visit to the Russian capital since taking over from Putin's close friend Gerhard Schroeder, Merkel will meet with Putin for about two hours to discuss Iran, energy ties, the situation in Chechnya and other issues, the officials said. "The Iran issue will be in the foreground of the visit," a German government official told reporters on condition of anonymity, according to a report of Reuters.
