President Donald Trump said Tuesday that American and Iranian representatives held talks in Manhattan on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, with discussions reportedly focused on bringing the nearly seven-month conflict to an end.
When the Daily Mail asked Trump whether such a meeting was scheduled, the president said the encounter had already taken place.
“It ended an hour ago,” Trump said during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He said the talks had continued for roughly three hours.
Trump described the discussions as “very good,” while warning that Iran faced a choice between pursuing what he called “potential greatness” and risking “obliteration.”
“It’s to their advantage to make a deal,” Trump said, adding that another round of negotiations with Tehran was expected “in the near future.”
It remained uncertain whether Trump joined the talks himself. He said US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, represented Washington during the meeting.
Trump’s personal attendance appeared unlikely, given his packed schedule of meetings with the prime ministers of Japan and the United Kingdom, as well as his separate discussion with Zelensky.
The precise agenda was not immediately disclosed, although the conversations were expected to center on the ongoing conflict involving Iran and possible steps toward ending it, much like earlier negotiations between the two sides.
President Donald Trump said US and Iranian officials held three hours of talks on Tuesday during the UN General Assembly in New York
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, center, and Jared Kushner, right, took part in the meeting with Iranian representatives, according to Trump. It was unclear whether the president joined the talks
Kushner and Witkoff have led US efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict with Iranian officials, meeting with mediators throughout the Middle East as they work toward a potential agreement
Iranian officials had not publicly confirmed that the meeting took place.
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In his address to the United Nations, Trump said he was weighing whether to reach an agreement that would allow Iran to rebuild or launch further strikes to “annihilate the Islamic Republic” and “drive them into Hell.”
The president also accused Iran’s “fanatical” leadership of killing more than 72,000 of its own people this year, including, he alleged, 10,000 protesters in recent violence.
The UN General Assembly offers one of the few settings where US and Iranian officials can meet directly. Earlier discussions have taken place in Rome, Pakistan and other locations across the Middle East.
The talks marked the first face-to-face meeting between the two sides since June, when they reached a ceasefire that lasted only briefly.
The conflict involving the US and Iran is not the only war Trump says he wants to bring to a close.
Sitting across from Zelensky, who leads Ukraine during wartime, Trump repeated his belief that Russia will eventually agree to an end to the conflict, now in its fourth year.
“Well, I think they’re going to make a deal, and I don’t want to say what the deal is,” Trump said.
President Trump smiles as he reaches toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during their bilateral meeting Tuesday at the UN
Trump said he hoped to have another meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the conflict, adding that there may be another face-to-face sit-down with Ukrainian and Russian officials this year.
“We’ve had a meeting already in Alaska. I think he’d do another one,’ Trump said of Putin.
‘I don’t know about Miami. We have a big thing happening in Miami very soon, but no, he’ll meet. He’s willing to make this work. He’d like to see the war end.’
In December, the G20 will meet in Miami for its annual summit. While Zelensky has confirmed he will attend, it is up in the air whether Putin will show.