ROME (AFP) -- Tehran is prepared to work with the Italian government on the main problems hampering Middle East peace efforts, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said in a letter to Prime Minister Romano Prodi, a government official said Friday.

The letter was handed over by visiting Deputy Foreign Minister Sayed Jalili, the source told AFP.

Prodi and his Foreign Minister Massimo d'Alema recognized Iran's "legitimate aspiration to be recognized as a regional power" while urging it to "cooperate to resolve the main problems in the region," the source said.

"Iran should use its weight and influence with a view to full stabilization of the region," he said.

The letter was a follow-up to Prodi and Ahmadinejad's talks at the UN in New York in September, Reuters said.