Shoe thrown at Iran president on return home after Obama call The shoe missed the car and Rouhani stood up through the sunroof to acknowledge the crowds. Before leaving New York where he attended the UN General Assembly, Rouhani had a 15-minute telephone conversation with Obama on Friday, the first contact between leaders of the two countries in more than three decades. The call followed crucial talks at the United Nations on Thursday night which saw Iran's foreign minister sit down with representatives of world powers including John Kerry, the US secretary of state to discuss a deal on Iran's nuclear programme. Throwing a shoe at a person is considered a grave insult in the Middle East. A shoe thrown by Iraqi journalist Muntader al-Zaidi's at President Bush in December 2008 became a symbol of Iraqi anger against "the occupier," while previous Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also had a shoe thrown at him on a visit to Egypt earlier this year.