Javier Solana, who formally headed the negotiations Thursday in Switzerland, said Iran and six world powers also agreed to a second round of talks regarding Tehran’s contentious nuclear program.
Iranian officials met with permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany in Genthod, northeast of Geneva, in an attempt to persuade Tehran to freeze its uranium enrichment program.
And in a surprise development, American and Iranian delegates reportedly held their first known one-on-one meeting in years.
U.S. President Barack Obama called the meetings a "constructive beginning."
However, he stressed again that Iran must grant inspectors open access within two weeks to a recently disclosed uranium enrichment facility.
"Talk is no substitute for action," Obama said in Washington. "Our patience is not unlimited."
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday that the talks had "opened the door" to potential progress on clarifying Iran's nuclear ambitions.
But she was cautious in her assessment.
"It was a productive day but the proof of that has not yet come to fruition, so we'll wait and continue to press our point of view and see what Iran decides to do," Clinton said.
The U.S.-Iran meeting, the Iranian pledge to open the plant to inspectors, and the round of talks are seen as encouraging signs that the discussions might be more fruitful than originally believed.
Western officials were discussing the imposition of new sanctions on Iran after learning last week of a second uranium enrichment plant under construction.
Concerns about Iran nuclear program
Iran insists the program is peaceful and for energy purposes. The West fears the prog...