U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at the U.S. Department of Transportation in Washington March 3, 2009. Obama said on Tuesday he saw little hope of near-term improvement in the U.S. economy after a staggering drop in gross domestic product in the final three months of last year. REUTERS/Jason Reed

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday dismissed as inaccurate a report he had linked U.S. plans for a missile defense shield to Russian help on Iran in a letter to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Obama had offered the deal in a letter hand-delivered to Medvedev in Moscow last month by top administration officials.

Obama said the report did not “accurately characterize the letter.”

Medvedev’s spokeswoman earlier confirmed receipt of the letter but said it contained no concrete proposals.