President Obama on Friday announced that he had spoken by phone with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, marking the first time since 1979 that leaders from the two nations had held direct talks.
Speaking during a brief news conference in which he also urged House Republicans to not shut down the government, Obama said he and Rouhani had discussed Iran's nuclear ambitions, adding that resolving the issue would "serve as a major step forward in a new relationship between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran."
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