The presidents of the United States and Iran traded relatively conciliatory speeches on Tuesday [Sept. 24] that included the most forthcoming remarks ever by a US president toward the Islamic Republic of Iran — among them, an explicit renunciation of “regime change.”

But Barack Obama and Hassan Rouhani did not “bump” into each other in the corridors of the United Nations or at a heads of state luncheon, disappointing those who sought a more tangible sign of high-level US-Iran rapprochement.

Still the two leaders’ comments before the annual summit of the UN General Assembly mirrored each other in their emphasis on a diplomatic solution to the nuclear and other disputes that have divided the US and Iran for 34 years. Indeed, Obama listed Iran’s nuclear program as his number one diplomatic priority for the remainder of his term, followed by progress on the Arab-Israeli dispute. The US president also said that Secretary of State John Kerry would be in charge of the Iranian nuclear file — elevating the talks to the same level as Rouhani had, who earlier designated Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as Iran’s official in charge.

A better gauge of US-Iran progress will come Thursday [Sept. 26] when Kerry and Zarif both attend a session of the so-called P5+1 — the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany — to discuss how to move beyond the stalemate in nuclear talks. A full-fledged new round is expected in October in Geneva.