Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s speech to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Sept. 24, was not a breakthrough, but it was definitely a significant first step in US-Iran relations.
Rouhani's moderate approach characterized his UN address and perhaps had an immediate effect. US President Barack Obama’s instructions to Secretary of State John Kerry to initiate talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif was a promising, albeit tentative outcome. In retrospect, the fact that a chance meeting between the two presidents did not take place may render chances for success of talks more promising. If a chance encounter had taken place it would have raised expectations, perhaps prematurely.
