Looks like President Obama and newly elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani won’t be shaking hands after all. NBC News reports:

President Barack Obama had encouraging words for his Iranian counterpart Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly, but a much buzzed-about meeting between the two leaders apparently won’t happen.

Two senior administration officials told White House reporters that a meeting — even a handshake, even on the sidelines — proved “too complicated” for Iranian President Hassan Rouhani back home. The officials said that only became clear Tuesday.

Secretary of State John Kerry’s meeting with his own Iranian counterpart, scheduled for Thursday, will be the highest-level encounter between the two countries at the General Assembly.