John Kerry to Meet With Iranian Foreign Minister at UN

Will be joined by foreign ministers from China, Russia, the UK, France, and Germany

Foreign ministers from the five permanent members of the United Nations security council and Germany will meet Iran's top diplomat on Thursday, to discuss the Islamic republic's nuclear programme.

The meeting on the sidelines of the annual UN general assembly is aimed at paving the way for the first round of substantive negotiations on the nuclear issue since April, probably next month. It will also mark the highest-level, direct contact between the US and Iran in six years as the US secretary of state, John Kerry, comes face-to-face with the Iranian foreign minister, Javad Zarif.