Kerry, Iranian foreign minister sit side-by-side at nuclear talks

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) are seated during a meeting of the foreign ministers representing the permanent five member countries of the United Nations Security Council, including Germany, at UN Headquarters in New York September 26, 2013. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif joined nuclear talks with six world powers on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, taking a seat next to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Thursday's meeting was the first between a top U.S. diplomat and an Iranian foreign minister since a brief encounter in May 2007, and came amid a charm offensive by new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that has raised hopes for easing more than three decades of estrangement between Washington and Tehran. (Reporting By Brendan McDermid and Michelle Nichols, writing by Matt Spetalnick)