U.S.-Iran chat foiled by violinist's red dress

SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt — Larissa Abramova, a Ukrainian violinist, thought her red dress was lovely. But it apparently offended Iran's foreign minister so much he boycotted a gala dinner attended by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Abramova wore a sleeveless dress with matching gloves coming up past the elbow and a red scarf draped over the low-cut front. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit had hoped Thursday's dinner would be a chance for Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and Rice to have an informal talk on the sidelines of an international conference on Iraq in this Red Sea resort town. A place had been set for him across from Rice at the dinner.

But Mottaki only went as far as the lobby, where Abramova was playing at the bar, entertaining diplomats passing by on their way to the restaurant.

Through a translator, Mottaki told reporters there were problems with "Islamic standards" at the gathering. "There was something wrong with that so I offered my apologies," Mottaki said. "There was no other reason."

A U.S. official with Rice's delegation said Mottaki complained to the Egyptians that the hotel violinist was dressed too revealingly.

"I don't know which woman he was afraid of, the woman in the red dress or the secretary of state," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Friday.