- By
- LAURENCE NORMAN
- And Jay Solomon
UNITED NATIONS—The U.S. and Iran held talks at the highest levels in 36 years on Thursday aimed to resolve longstanding concerns over Iran's disputed nuclear program.
European officials attending the session called it "a substantial meeting" that could address decades of enmity between Iran and the West by establishing programs for the inspection and verification of the country's expanding nuclear complex.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the meeting was a "good start" and that more detailed discussions would be held in the next three weeks.
"We hope that this new Iranian government will show that it is prepared to engage substantively to address these longstanding concerns," a senior U.S. State Department officials said. "We are hopeful that we can continue to chart a path forward."
At the same time, however, Israelis expressed anxiety over the developments leading up the meeting, fearing that a new Iranian charm offensive would mislead Western powers into allowing a weapons program to continue unabated.
The meeting came together as world leaders were gathered at the United Nations.
Late Thursday afternoon, Secretary of State John Kerry met Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in the U.N. Security Council's consultation chamber. They were joined by the foreign ministers of the U.K., France, Russia, China and Germany.
Mr. Kerry praised the constructive tone of the meeting but said that hard work is required to settle all the questions involved.
The meeting, lasting more than an hour, was aimed at starting a new round of negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. The West charges that Tehran is trying to produce atomic weapons, but Iran's new president, Hasan Rouhani, has said repeatedly in recent days that he intends to show his country's nuclear program is peaceful.
Mr. Zarif said after the meeting that sanctions on Iran should be eased and eventually lifted as the countries move forward with negotiations
—Joe Lauria contributed to this article from the United Nations. 
