Nobel laureate and former International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) secretary-general Mohamed ElBaradei has called on both the US and Iran to seize the opportunity for potential dialogue.

ElBaradei added via Twitter that dialogue between the US and Iran is "key to Middle Eastern stability." He asserted such discussion has been on the table for years but has been periodically halted by "hype & failed policies."

The former Egyptian vice-president's comments come after a historic telephone call between US President Barack Obama and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani.

A fifteen-minute phone call took place on Friday between the two leaders, markedly the highest-level contact between the two countries since the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran.

On Thursday new Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with his counterparts from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany at the UN General Assembly, including US Secretary of State John Kerry.