President Obama speaking on the phone with the president of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, September 2013. Photo: The White House

AP – A top official in Iran says the Islamic Republic has written back in response to letters sent by U.S. President Barack Obama, the first acknowledgement of such correspondence.

The letter writing is part of a recent thaw in relations between the two countries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, where 52 Americans were held hostage for more than a year.

Read full story.