Obama tells world leaders diplomatic path with Iran must be tested

President Barack Obama said on Tuesday the United States was ready to engage diplomatically with Iran in what could be a historic opening between the long-time foes but put the onus on the new Iranian president to prove he is serious about pursuing a nuclear deal.

Addressing an annual summit of world leaders at the United Nations, Obama said he wanted to put President Hassan Rouhani’s overtures to the test and challenged him to take concrete steps toward resolving Iran’s long-running nuclear dispute with the West.

“Conciliatory words will have to be matched by actions that are transparent and verifiable,” Obama told the United Nations General Assembly.

Rouhani’s recent overtures, including agreement to hold new talks on its nuclear programme, have raised international hopes for a thaw in relations between Washington and Tehran after more than three decades of estrangement.

The White House has left open the possibility that Obama and Rouhani could meet – at least for a handshake on the UN sidelines – later on Tuesday. Even a fleeting encounter would be symbolically important given that it would be the first face-to-face contact between US and Iranian heads of government since before the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted the US-backed Shah.

But differences over Iran’s nuclear programme and scepticism about Rouhani’s intentions, especially from US lawmakers and close US ally Israel, have cast doubt on the prospect for any immediate breakthrough between Washington and Tehran.

Seeking to keep expectations under control, Obama said suspicions between the two countries were too great to believe their troubled history can be overcome overnight.