US and Iran hold first talks since June after Trump's 'annihilation' threat
The talks are the first since a ceasefire collapsed in June, with the sides exchanging fire intermittently.
US and Iran hold first talks since June after Trump's 'annihilation' threat
Senior Iranian and US officials met at the UN in New York on a day when the US president said he could "annihilate" the Islamic Republic if the conflict remained unresolved.
No breakthrough was reported from the Qatar-mediated meeting, which involved Iran's foreign minister and US President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff — the first since a June ceasefire fell apart.
Witkoff said a round of talks had been completed "that we hope will prove constructive and promising". Iran again demanded that the US stop its "acts of aggression".
The US and Israel carried out air strikes on Iran on 28 February. Iran retaliated by striking Israel and US bases in the Gulf and Arab Gulf allies of the US, and by blocking the Strait of Hormuz.
Before the war, about 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas moved through the strait, and its closure has triggered sharp price swings.
It has also increased pressure on Trump to find a way to end the conflict, especially as the US moves toward Congressional elections in November.
In his speech to the annual UN General Assembly meeting in New York on Tuesday, Trump opened by highlighting his record on the economy, immigration, the border and tackling violent crime — comments that sounded more aimed at voters in the US midterms than at the diplomats in the hall.
He devoted much of the address to defending the war with Iran, a stark contrast with remarks earlier from UN Secretary General António Guterres, who warned that global divisions were widening and stressed the "interdependence" of the world's peoples.
The US president said the conflict had stopped Tehran from getting a nuclear weapon and showed the value of what he called peace through strength — ultimatums rather than deal-making or compromise.
"Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before?" he said.
"Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? Do I drive them into hell?"
Trump said he believed an Iran deal, which he has so far failed to secure, would come right after November's elections.
The comments reflected his foreign-policy approach of coercive diplomacy — threatening overwhelming force while leaving the door open to negotiations.
Trump later told reporters that US officials had held a "very productive" three-hour meeting with the Iranian delegation on the sidelines of the general assembly.
Iran state TV confirmed that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had met Witkoff.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei, quoted by state broadcaster IRNA, later said the negotiations took place through a Qatari mediator who relayed Tehran's conditions, including an end to the war on all fronts and to US "acts of aggression".
The BBC asked Witkoff how the meetings had gone as he was leaving the UN building, and he replied with a thumbs up. Witkoff later confirmed on X that the talks had been held "through the mediators, who shuttled between the two sides throughout the day".
"They successfully completed a round of discussions that we hope will prove constructive and promising," Witkoff said. "The mediators will continue their work."
Since the ceasefire collapsed, both sides have exchanged fire intermittently.
Iran has attacked vessels it says tried to cross the Strait of Hormuz without authorisation.
The US has struck Iranian sites in the strait, as well as Iranian tankers off the country's coast.
The US has also kept up a blockade of Iranian ports, causing major disruption to the Iranian economy.
To pressure Tehran into agreeing a deal to end the conflict, President Trump has also threatened sanctions against any country that continues trading with Iran. But so far there has been no sign of a shift in Iran, which insists the US and Israel end their war, including against the Iran-backed Shia group Hezbollah in Lebanon, which Israel has been attacking.
Yemen's Houthis, also allied to Iran, have recently intensified attacks aimed at disrupting oil shipping from Saudi Arabia, prompting an escalation of the conflict with the kingdom.