Obama Shakes Hands With Zarif in Step Toward Better U.S.-Iran Relations
- Similar gesture with Rouhani for now is out of the question
- Rouhani and Obama spoke by phone for first time two years ago
Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif (center) talks with members of his delegation as U.S. President Barack Obama addresses the 70th annual United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters on Sept. 28, 2015, in New York City.
Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
In the end, the handshake happened. Just not with Hassan Rouhani.
In the lead-up to the United Nations General Assembly, speculation ran rife about whether President Barack Obama and his Iranian counterpart would cap the success of a nuclear deal by shaking on it. In the end, it was Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif who savored the historic gesture, according to a U.S. Administration official who asked not to be identified, citing the sensitivity of the issue.