Kerry to meet his Iranian counterpart at UN

US Secretary of State John Kerry will be meeting with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif this week at the UN as part of the P5+1 process but there is no meeting scheduled between President Barack Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rohani, the White House said Monday. In a gaggle aboard Air Force One, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes told reporters "we do not have a meeting scheduled with President Rohani," but "we don't rule out that type of engagement." He reiterated that "we are open to engagement with the Iranian government at a variety of levels provided that they will follow through on their commitments to address the international community's concerns over their nuclear program." Meanwhile, Rhodes noted that Kerry will be meeting with his P5+1 counterparts as well as the Iranian foreign minister, saying "that's an opportunity for us to reaffirm, together with our P5+1 partners, the importance of Iran coming in line with international obligations. "We welcome Iran engaging seriously through that process given that it represents the international community's commitment to holding Iran accountable, but also being open to a diplomatic resolution," he affirmed. For his part, White House Spokesman stressed that from the beginning of Obama's time in office "our position on Iran has been consistent, and that is a willingness to meet with the Iranians, a willingness to have bilateral conversations and obviously to pursue negotiations through the P5+1, commensurate with a willingness by Iran to be serious about dealing with its nuclear weapons program."