U.S. and Iranian officials held hours-long, mediated contacts on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, the first such engagement reported since a short-lived ceasefire earlier this year collapsed. No deal was announced.
President Donald Trump told reporters the meeting lasted about three hours and called it “very good” and “very productive.” U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said on X that talks ran through mediators who shuttled between the sides and that the round was completed “constructive and promising,” with mediation continuing. Associated Press reporting named Witkoff and Jared Kushner among the U.S. participants; Trump said the Iranian counterparts were “not the highest level.”
Whether any contact was face-to-face remains disputed. Iranian state media said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Witkoff; Iranian officials later told Reuters (opens in new tab) the exchange was not face-to-face, and Witkoff’s account describes mediators shuttling between the delegations. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Qatar mediated an exchange of messages and that Tehran’s conditions included an end to hostilities, an end to the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports, and related economic demands. No joint communiqué or signed agreement was released.
Earlier Tuesday, Trump told the General Assembly he faced a choice between a deal that would let Iran rebuild and options he framed as annihilating the Islamic Republic. On Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian addressed the assembly, rejected “the language of force,” denied seeking a nuclear weapon while refusing limits on a civilian nuclear program, and said Iran was ready for dialogue and negotiations.
Wire and network reporting say shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been disrupted and oil markets elevated since U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran reported Feb. 28. Both sides have described intermittent exchanges of fire since the June ceasefire broke down. The Event Record has not independently verified battlefield claims.