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US and Iran Hold First Talks Since June Ceasefire Collapse

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Iranian and US officials met at the UN in New York, mediated by Qatar, hours after Trump threatened to 'annihilate' Iran. No breakthrough was reported.

Senior officials from the United States and Iran met at the United Nations in New York on Tuesday, holding their first direct contact since a June ceasefire between the two sides broke down. The meeting brought together Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Steve Witkoff, the envoy of US President Donald Trump, with Qatar acting as mediator.

The encounter came on the same day Trump warned he could "annihilate" the Islamic Republic if the conflict remained unresolved. No breakthrough emerged from the discussions. Witkoff said the two delegations had finished a round of talks that he hoped would "prove constructive and promising," while Iran again pressed Washington to halt what it called its "acts of aggression."

The fighting began on 28 February, when the United States and Israel struck targets inside Iran from the air. Tehran hit back by attacking Israel and US military bases across the Gulf, striking Arab states allied with Washington and shutting the Strait of Hormuz. Roughly 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas once moved through the waterway, and its closure sent energy prices swinging sharply.

The disruption has sharpened the pressure on Trump to bring the confrontation to a close, with the United States approaching Congressional elections in November. His appearance at the annual UN General Assembly reflected that political backdrop. He opened his address by listing achievements on the economy, immigration, border security and crime, remarks that appeared aimed more at American voters than at the diplomats seated before him.

Much of the speech was devoted to defending the war against Iran. That stance stood in stark contrast to earlier comments from UN Secretary General António Guterres, who cautioned that divisions between nations were widening and stressed the "interdependence" binding the world's peoples together.

Trump's ultimatum at the podium

Trump told the assembly that the campaign against Iran had stopped Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, presenting it as proof of what he called peace through strength - a doctrine built on ultimatums rather than negotiation or compromise. He framed the choice starkly.

"Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before?" he asked. "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?"

The president said an agreement with Iran, which has so far escaped him, would likely take shape once November's elections had passed. His words captured a strategy of coercive diplomacy: dangling the threat of overwhelming military force while leaving the door to talks ajar.

A three-hour meeting on the sidelines

Later, speaking to reporters, Trump described a "very productive" three-hour session between American officials and the Iranian delegation held alongside the General Assembly. Iranian state television confirmed that Araghchi had sat down with Witkoff.

According to Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei, quoted by the state broadcaster IRNA, the exchanges ran through a Qatari intermediary who relayed Tehran's terms. Those conditions included an end to the war on every front and a stop to what Iran describes as American aggression.

As Witkoff left the UN building, the BBC asked how the meetings had gone; he answered with a thumbs up. He later set out more detail on X, saying the two sides had never met face to face but had communicated through 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 wrote. "The mediators will continue their work."

Since the June ceasefire fell apart, the two countries have traded fire on and off, and Tuesday's contact marked the first attempt to talk since that truce collapsed. Neither side announced any agreement, but both left open the prospect of further rounds through Qatar.

US Iran talks, Steve Witkoff, Abbas Araghchi, Trump Iran annihilate, UN General Assembly, Qatar mediation, Strait of Hormuz, Iran nuclear

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