Hollande Urges 'Concrete Gestures' by Iran

French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday urged Iran to make "concrete gestures" on its nuclear program before his meeting with Tehran's new leader.

"France expects Iran to make concrete gestures to show that it renounces its military nuclear program, even if it has a right to a civilian program," Hollande told the U.N. General Assembly.

Hollande will meet later Tuesday with Iran's newly elected President Hasan Rowhani, a reputed moderate who has called for better relations with the West.

"The question at hand is to know if these words can translate into actions, especially on the nuclear issue," Hollande said.

"For the past 10 years talks haven't gone anywhere," he said.

Rowhani is paying a closely watched visit to the United Nations, which U.S. President Barack Obama is also attending.

"I accepted dialogue with President Rowhani as he himself has shown an openness," Hollande said later at a news conference.

"The dialogue has to be firm because, for France, there cannot be an acceptance of nuclear proliferation," he said.

"This is an issue that isn't tied to Iran but to global security," he said.

Hollande said that he also hoped to talk to Rowhani about Syria, whose embattled president Bashar Assad counts Iran as a top ally.

Hollande reiterated that he did not oppose Rowhani's presence at a future Geneva peace conference on Syria, but said that the focus had to be on transition from the Assad regime.

"If Iran wants to participate in Geneva Two, it has to be with a goal of transition," Hollande said.

Unlike France, the United States has no diplomatic relations with Iran.

The White House has played down the idea of a meeting between Rowhani and Obama, but their top diplomats will hold a historic interaction when they take part together in talks on Iran's nuclear program.