Obama and Iran official shake hands in ‘accidental’ meeting

President Barack Obama and Iran’s foreign minister shook hands when they ran into one another on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif came upon Obama “accidentally” and the two shook hands, according to a report yesterday by Iran’s official IRNA agency.

A White House official, speaking on grounds of anonymity because the official was not authorised to speak publicly, confirmed that “there was a brief interaction at the luncheon, where they shook hands”.