WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Iran's ambassador to the United Nations has visited Washington to meet with a bipartisan congressional group, the Washington Post reported Thursday.
The visit by Mohammed Javad Zarif came a week after Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi met with Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., D-Del., the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Zarif would not take such a potentially controversial step unless he had general approval from Tehran, Iran experts said.
While Zarif's visit was not official, it had to be approved by the United States since Iranian envoys at the United Nations are restricted to 25 miles around New York City because the two nations have no formal relations.
"This is a process that has been very carefully considered by both sides," said William G. Miller, a former U.S. diplomat affiliated with the Woodrow Wilson Center and Search for Common Ground, who helped organize the visit.
