U.S. and Iranian officials say President Barack Obama and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif have shaken hands on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
The “accidental” event occurred on September 28 and represented the first handshake between a U.S. president and Iran's top diplomat since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Reuters news agency quoted an unidentified Iranian official as saying, "Nothing was planned at all, and it just happened in a few seconds and they greeted each other as well."
Iran’s official IRNA agency cited an unnamed diplomatic official as saying Zarif came upon Obama "accidentally" and the two shook hands.
An unidentified White House official confirmed this, saying "there was a brief interaction at the luncheon, where they shook hands.”
Based on reporting by Reuters and AP
