Trump Reveals Three-Hour US-Iran Talks on UN Sidelines, Warns of Obliteration While Predicting Post-Midterm Deal

President Trump disclosed on Tuesday that a U.S. team met with an Iranian delegation for three hours on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, calling the session "very productive" and saying another meeting is scheduled "in the very near future." Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner led the U.S. side, with Iran's Foreign Minister meeting Witkoff directly. Qatar's prime minister was present for most of the session, which U.S. sources said covered resuming broader talks and the conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, though no deal was reached on contentious issues.

Trump, speaking alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before his UNGA address, described the choice facing Tehran as "potential greatness" or "obliteration," and warned that there "will be a time when it's too late." He said he sees "a lot of momentum" for Iran to make a deal and predicted an agreement could come after November's midterm elections, or possibly before. He also said he may have to attack a site he referred to as Pickaxe Mountain if activity resumes there, but indicated none was currently detected.

Iran's state media confirmed the foreign minister met with Witkoff at Iran's initiative, saying Tehran accepted the meeting to convey "strict" conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's armed forces separately dismissed Trump's UNGA remarks as "tools of domestic propaganda." Iranian media also reported Iran laying out formal conditions for reopening the strait.

Brent crude settled around $99 as markets digested the talks, with the productive tone of the meeting read as a modest bullish signal. Trump's 37-minute UNGA speech also covered the Russia-Ukraine war, where he said Putin is willing to meet and that he and Zelenskyy are working toward a solution, as well as artificial intelligence, with Trump rejecting calls for international guardrails on frontier AI development. Trump also signed a Greenland deal on the sidelines of the assembly.