"The Islamic Republic of Iran plays a constructive and effective role in resolving the regional crises and need for making greater use of Iran's potentials and capabilities and to solve the current problems in the region is necessary today," Ban Ki-moon said during the meeting in New York on Thursday.
He emphasized that Iran is a major player also in the Persian Gulf region and can play important roles using its broad capacities and capabilities.
The two sides in the meeting exchanged views on various issues, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and the spread of extremism and terrorism in the region, and the process of Iran's nuclear talks with the Sextet.
Zarif left Tehran for New York on Tuesday morning to participate in the next round of nuclear talks between Iran and the six major world powers (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany) on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting.
