Speaking on the first day of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday, United States President Donald Trump threatened to “annihilate” Iran. Hours later, he told reporters that US officials held a “very good” meeting with Iranian leaders. Iran’s military did not hold back.
Dismissing Trump’s remarks, the Armed Forces General Staff – Iran’s highest military body – warned that it is ready to respond with “crushing” severer attacks than earlier in the war. Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, though not in direct response to Trump, used similarly combative imagery in a message marking the start of Iran’s academic year, describing knowledge combined with faith and morality as a “sharp sword” capable of cutting off the hands of aggressors. Amid the rhetoric, the two sides held their first in-person meeting in months on the sidelines of the UNGA, reviving a diplomatic channel that had almost collapsed in the wake of repeated violations of the June memorandum of understanding (MoU), which subsequently lapsed last month, during nearly seven months of the US-Israel war on Iran.
The war has triggered a spike in fuel prices in the US – a major issue in the midterm elections due in November – while sanctions by Washington are squeezing Iran’s economy. While Tehran wants the economic measures as well as the US naval blockade on its ports lifted, Washington wants Iran to allow free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a global oil chokepoint, and an end to its nuclear programme. So, why are Washington and Tehran engaging in diplomacy aimed at finding a way out of the war while also issuing fiery and violent threats?
Trump said his envoys – Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner – met Iranian officials for about three hours on the sidelines of the UNGA. He described it as a “very good meeting”, while acknowledging the Iranian representatives were “not the highest level”. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi took part, with mediators shuttling between the US and Iranian teams.
Witkoff later said the discussions were completed and expressed hope they would prove “constructive and promising”. The talks were believed to be the first in-person discussions between officials from the two countries since US Vice President JD Vance met senior Iranian officials in Switzerland in June. Trump said another meeting was expected “in the very near future”, adding that he believed there was “a lot of momentum” towards an agreement.
Trump used his UN speech to offer Iran a choice: an opening for negotiations and simultaneously issued a threat of further destruction. He asked whether a deal would allow Iran to “rebuild and create a far greater country”, or “do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly”. The Iranian delegation walked out shortly after Trump started to describe the nearly seven months of on-and-off military strikes against Iran, with only one person remaining seated.
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