Iran To Consider Resuming Flights To U.S.

Iranian President Hassan Rohani (center) (file photo)

Iranian President Hassan Rohani has ordered aviation authorities to study the possibility of resuming direct flights between Iran and the United States for the first time in more than three decades.

Iranian news agencies on September 30 quoted presidential adviser Akbar Torkan as saying Rohani wanted to study the option of resuming flights in order to "alleviate problems" for Iranian expatriates who want to visit.

Rohani has made some groundbreaking overtures to the West, including delivering a conciliatory speech at the United Nations' General Assembly last week and declaring his readiness for new negotiations with the West over Iran's nuclear program.

On September 27, U.S. President Barack Obama held a phone conversation with Rohani, the first direct conversation between the two countries' leaders since Washington and Tehran broke diplomatic ties in 1979.

Based on reporting by AP and dpa