LONDON -- British Foreign Secretary William Hague will meet his Iranian counterpart in New York later this month, in what the British government calls "a positive step" toward restoring full diplomatic ties between the two countries.

The Foreign Office said Sunday that Hague would meet Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting which begins Sept. 24.

The government would not give details of the planned meeting.

Britain withdrew its diplomats from Tehran after protesters attacked the British embassy in November 2011.

The election of moderate President Hassan Rouhani in July has raised hopes of improving relations between Iran and the West, frayed to the breaking point by tensions over Tehran's disputed nuclear program and Syria. Iran is a staunch backer of Bashar Assad's regime.