July 9 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will discuss with officials in Europe and the Middle East the current international sanctions against Iran and the possibility of more, a Treasury official said.

Geithner is visiting the U.K., Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and France next week for discussions about the global economy, efforts to prevent terrorism financing and the threat Iran poses, two Treasury officials said in a briefing today with reporters in Washington. The July 12-16 trip includes a speech in Jeddah on July 14, one of the officials said.

Geithner’s first visit to the Mideast as Treasury chief is aimed at explaining to allies and trading partners the state of the U.S. economy and shoring up their support for efforts to stop Iran’s nuclear program, stabilize Iraq and quell violence in Afghanistan, said the officials, who declined to be identified.

“It’s a good idea to maintain these contacts,” John Taylor, a professor at Stanford University in Stanford, California, who served as Treasury undersecretary for international affairs from 2001 to 2005, said in an interview. “It establishes a sense of trust so when difficult times come, or come back, they are familiar with each other and trust each other.”

This week, Group of Eight leaders condemned Iran’s violent crackdown on protests against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s reelection, while avoiding explicit threats of additional sanctions.

G-8 Speaks

“We call upon Iran to solve the situation through democratic dialogue,” said the statement released late yesterday at the G-8 summit in L’Aquila, Italy. “We remain committed to finding a diplomatic solution to the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.”

The United Nations Security Council has passed several rounds of sanctions against Iran over its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment and open its nuclear program to more scrutiny. The U.S. has financial restrictions on dealings with Iran as and bans much trade, including arms-related exports and goods that could be used for nuclear or military purposes.

Geithner’s formal agenda won’t include specifics on how the U.S. will manage a record budget deficit, one of the Treasury officials said. He will likely answer questions on the Treasury’s fiscal outlook and borrowing plans, much as he did last month in Beijing.

“It seems like he’s coming to speak with key bankers, to tell creditors the dollar’s OK, and not to worry about how much debt the U.S. is issuing,” said Eric Swats, Dubai-based head of asset management at Rasmala Investments, which has about $1.2 billion under management.

One of the Treasury officials said today that Geithner plans to meet with officials from a sovereign wealth fund in Abu Dhabi. Middle East officials have said they intend to continue depending on the dollar as reserve currency and point of reference.

“There is no better currency than the U.S. dollar to peg to,” said U.A.E. central bank governor Sultan Bin Nasser al- Suwaidi on June 28 in Basel, Switzerland. “We will need several years to revisit the issue and look at things again and decide. I think we will be with the U.S. dollar for a long time.”

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde has pressed Europe Union partners to speed efforts to contain counterparty risk in derivatives trades, saying the region is falling behind the U.S. in the area.

Economic recovery plans also will be on the agenda. The International Monetary Fund said yesterday that the euro region will be the worst performing major economy next year as unemployment reduces consumer spending, with the 16 countries sharing the euro expected to contract 0.3 percent.

Britain’s economic situation more closely parallels that of the U.S. than the other major European countries, economists say. The U.K. is coping with a budget deficit after years of growth that was fuelled in part by rising house prices and an expanding financial services industry, and it too is not yet ready to withdraw assistance to the financial industry.

“The global economies and financial systems appear too fragile to begin reversing the emergency measures,” said Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy in New York at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

To contact the reporters on this story: Rebecca Christie in Washington at Rchristie4@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: July 9, 2009 16:05 EDT