— Iran and the United States are making plenty of friendly gestures, but real progress is going to be harder. A notable first meeting between the two nations’ presidents suddenly seems possible next week, but without nuclear concessions, the U.S. is unlikely to give Tehran what it wants: an easing of punishing sanctions that have resulted in soaring inflation and unemployment.

President Barack Obama and Iran’s new president, Hasan Rouhani, will be in New York next week for the United Nations General Assembly. And a recent flurry of goodwill gestures has raised the prospect they’ll meet.



The Obama administration has welcomed the election of Rouhani, a moderate cleric who achieved a stunning victory in Iran’s June presidential elections. And upbeat signals have suggested there could be talks between Obama and Rouhani on the U.N. sidelines.

But U.S. officials remain skeptical of whether Rouhani’s more palatable rhetoric will be followed by shifts in Iran’s long-standing refusal to curb its nuclear program. The U.S. and its allies suspect Iran is trying to produce a nuclear weapon, although Tehran insists its nuclear activities are only for producing energy and for medical research.




