Ouch...
U.S. and Iran Shake Hands
Reuters
Tuesday, November 13, 2001
UNITED NATIONS, New York Secretary of State Colin Powell and Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi of Iran shook hands Monday, the first handshake between cabinet ministers from the two countries in more than 20 years.
The greeting took place at the start of a meeting at UN headquarters of foreign ministers from Russia, the United States and Afghanistan's six neighbors, called to explore the outlines of a post-Taliban government in Afghanistan.
Mr. Kharrazi expressed his condolences through General Powell to the American people and the families of the victims of the American Airlines plane that crashed in New York just before the meeting, a U.S. diplomat said.
General Powell went up to him, shook his hand and thanked him for his condolences, he added.
The United States and Iran have been estranged since the Iranian revolution of 1979, when the U.S.-backed shah was ousted and Islamic militants held 52 Americans hostage in Tehran for 444 days.
The United States has reached out to Iran since the election of President Mohammed Khatami in 1997. Former President Bill Clinton made a succession of gestures but was repeatedly rebuffed.
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