President Barack Obama announced Friday a historic phone conversation he had with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, a moderate, the first such conversation between leaders of the two nations since a diplomatic fallout in 1979.

‘The two of us discussed our ongoing efforts to reach an agreement over Iran’s nuclear program,” Obama said at a press conference at the White House. “I reiterated what I said in New York. While there will surely be important obstacles to moving forward and success is not guaranteed, I believe we can reach a conference of solution.”