Canada on Monday called for "tough" sanctions to be maintained on Iran until it shows concrete signs of change over its nuclear program.

"Kind words, a smile and a charm offensive are not a substitute for real action," Canada's Foreign Minister John Baird told the U.N. General Assembly.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards chief said Monday President Hassan Rouhani should have refused a telephone call from his U.S. counterpart, in the first public criticism of the move by a senior official.

Rouhani's landmark conversation with Barack Obama last week was the first contact between leaders of the two countries since the rupture of diplomatic relations in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Iran's army unveiled a highly mobile propellant-powered reconnaissance drone on Saturday, according to local media.

The drone, named "Yasseer," can fly for eight hours with a range of 200 kilometers (124 miles) and reach an altitude of 4,500 meters (15,000 feet), the reports said.

The World Bank removed Iran from its list of deadbeat borrowers Friday, saying the Islamic Republic had paid outstanding loan amounts.

The Bank said that its key lending unit, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, "has moved all loans to the Islamic Republic of Iran from non-performing status to performing status following the payment of all overdue amounts on these loans."

The surprise first phone contact Friday between presidents Barack Obama and Hassan Rouhani was not only a dramatic moment in U.S-Iranian ties, but also in the field of digital diplomacy.

Moments before the U.S. leader announced from the White House podium that he had had a chat with his opposite number, the Iranian president had sent a tweet that may well live on in history.

Threats of war and economic sanctions may have resulted in a double diplomatic breakthrough in the Syrian and Iranian crises but, analysts have warned, they also reveal the limits to Western power.

The U.N. Security Council unanimously passed a landmark resolution Friday ordering the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons and condemning a murderous poison gas attack in Damascus.

U.S. President Barack Obama and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani spoke by phone Friday in a historic and first direct contact between leaders of their estranged nations since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The stunning 15-minute call, starting at 2:30 pm (1830 GMT), was the fruit of a diplomatic opening forged by Rouhani's election in June on a mandate to ease confrontation with the West and lift nuclear sanctions that have pulverized the Iranian economy.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani vowed Friday his country would never deviate from its pledges at nuclear talks and said his country would propose a new plan at next month's Geneva meeting.

"At the next meeting in Geneva, Iran will propose its plan to the P5+1," the new Iranian leader told reporters, adding "we will never deviate from our commitments."

Iran wants to "actively" take part in any new Syria peace conference, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Friday.

"For Geneva or any other international gathering ... should Iran participate, it will actively accept that invitation and participate for the sake of the Syrian people," Rouhani told a press conference on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday he was convinced Iran's new President Hassan Rouhani was sincere in seeking to ease concerns over the Islamic republic's nuclear program.

Abe met Thursday with Rouhani at the U.N. General Assembly, where the self-described new moderate Iranian president has been working to jumpstart talks with the West on the nuclear dispute.