Iran's Rouhani to speak at yearly UN session in New York

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A relatively moderate cleric, who has said he wants to ease tensions with the West, Rouhani will give three speeches there, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying.

Rouhani's predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speeches at the General Assembly included questioning the Holocaust and the U.S. account of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Western envoys typically walked out of his speeches in protest.

Iran is engaged in a stand-off with the West over its disputed nuclear programme, and negotiations with world powers over the scope of the programme have stalled since April.

Rouhani has yet to name a new nuclear negotiator to replace Saeed Jalili, a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war who was seen by diplomats as uncompromising, but Zarif indicated on Wednesday that Rouhani has already finalised the Iranian negotiating team. (Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Louise Ireland)

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