US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman expressed concern Tuesday over Italy's continued business relations with Iran, saying he hoped Rome would support further sanctions against the country. However, relations between Italy and the United States will remain sound no matter how international efforts to persuade Iran to halt uranium enrichment turn out, he said. "Even though we'd be concerned by commercial relations between Italy and Iran, we will remain friends whatever the outcome," Bodman told a news conference in Rome after meeting with Italian Industry Minister Pierluigi Bersani.