Summary Iran and United Nations have signed an agreement about providing humanitarian assistance in Syria.
LONDON (AP) - British Foreign Secretary William Hague will meet his Iranian counterpart in New York later this month, in what the British government calls "a positive step" toward restoring full diplomatic ties between the two countries.
The Foreign Office said Sunday that Hague would meet Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting which begins Sept. 24. The government would not give details of the planned meeting.
Britain withdrew its diplomats from Tehran after protesters attacked the British embassy in November 2011.
The election of moderate President Hassan Rouhani in July has raised hopes of improving relations between Iran and the West, frayed to the breaking point by tensions over Tehran s disputed nuclear program and Syria. Iran is a staunch backer of Bashar Assad s regime.
Meanwhile, a news agency in Iran reports that Iran and the United Nations have signed an agreement about providing humanitarian assistance in the Middle East, including Syria.
A report Sunday by the semi-official ISNA news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying the agreement came after a meeting with U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos. Amos is on her first visit to Tehran.
Araghchi said Iran is ready for extended and effective cooperation with the United Nations for humanitarian aid. He was quoted as saying: "There are plenty of crisis caused by political developments in the Middle East, like what we are currently witnessing in Syria."
Iran is key regional backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad in the country s civil war. It occasionally has sent humanitarian aid to Syria in the past.
