WASHINGTON — The long-fractured relationship between the United States
and Iran took a significant turn on Friday when President Obama and
President Hassan Rouhani became the first leaders of their countries to
speak since the Tehran hostage crisis more than three decades ago.
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In a hurriedly arranged telephone call, Mr. Obama reached Mr. Rouhani as
the Iranian leader was headed to the airport to leave New York after a
whirlwind news media and diplomatic blitz. The two agreed to accelerate
talks aimed at defusing the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program and
afterward expressed optimism at the prospect of a rapprochement that
would transform the Middle East.
“Resolving this issue, obviously, could also serve as a major step
forward in a new relationship between the United States and the Islamic
Republic of Iran, one based on mutual interests and mutual respect,” Mr.
Obama, referring to Tehran’s nuclear program, told reporters at the
White House after the 15-minute phone call. “It would also help
facilitate a better relationship between Iran and the international
community, as well as others in the region.”
A Twitter account
in Mr. Rouhani’s name later stated, “In regards to nuclear issue, with
political will, there is a way to rapidly solve the matter.” The account
added that Mr. Rouhani had told Mr. Obama, “We’re hopeful about what we
will see from” the United States and other major powers “in coming
weeks and months.”
The conversation was the first between Iranian and American leaders
since 1979 when President Jimmy Carter spoke by telephone with Shah
Mohammed Reza Pahlavi shortly before the shah left the country,
according to Iran experts. The Islamic Revolution that toppled the
shah’s government led to the seizure of the American Embassy and a
444-day hostage crisis that have left the two countries at odds with
each other ever since.
Although both Republican and Democratic presidents have reached out to
Tehran in the interim, contact had been reserved to letters or
lower-level officials.
The call came just days after Mr. Obama had hoped to encounter Mr.
Rouhani at a luncheon at the United Nations and expected to shake hands.
Mr. Rouhani skipped the luncheon and later indicated it was premature
to meet Mr. Obama. But a meeting on Thursday between Secretary of State
John Kerry and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif of Iran was
described as constructive and led Iranian officials to contact the White
House on Friday to suggest the phone call, according to American
officials.
A senior Obama administration official, who briefed reporters on the
condition of anonymity because of diplomatic sensitivities, said the
White House had expressed the president’s interest in meeting Mr.
Rouhani to the Iranians this week but was surprised when they suggested
the phone call. Mr. Obama placed the call from the Oval Office around
2:30 p.m., joined by aides and a translator.
He opened by congratulating Mr. Rouhani on his election in June and
noted the history of mistrust between the two nations, but also what he
called the constructive statements Mr. Rouhani had made during his stay
in New York, according to the official. The bulk of the call focused on
the nuclear dispute, and Mr. Obama repeated that he respected Iran’s
right to develop civilian nuclear energy, but insisted on concessions to
prevent development of weapons.
Mr. Obama also raised the cases of three Americans in Iran, one missing
and two others detained. In a lighter moment, he apologized for New York
traffic.
The call ended on a polite note, according to the official and Mr. Rouhani’s Twitter account.
“Have a nice day,” Mr. Rouhani said in English.
“Thank you,” Mr. Obama replied, and then tried a Persian farewell. “Khodahafez.”
By talking on the phone instead of in person, Mr. Rouhani avoided a
politically problematic photo of himself with Mr. Obama, which could
have inflamed hard-liners in Iran who were already wary of his outreach
to the United States. As it was, conservative elements in Tehran tried
to reinterpret his statements acknowledging the Holocaust while he was
in New York.
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