It’s a big day for Iran diplomacy at the United Nations. Later today (probably around 4pm) the P5+1 is meeting for face-to-face negotiations with Iran over it’s nuclear program. This is first direct meeting in years and followed conciliatory speeches by Barack Obama and Hassan Rouhani at the United Nations General Assembly.
John Kerry will attend, as will his Iranian counterpart Mohammad-Javad Zari which will make this meeting the highest level direct talks between Iran and the USA since the 1979 revolution. Earlier today, the head of the European Union Herman van Rompouy held a photo op (above) with Rouhani. The mood is decidedly optimistic. Even the typically restrained Zbigniew Brzezinski Tweeted “We are at a historic juncture: a US-Iranian accommodation could prevent a regional explosion.”
After today’s meeting we will know more clearly where things stand on the substance of the negotiations. But given things where we were one year ago this week, things are certainly moving in the right direction.