President Trump revealed Tuesday that American and Iranian officials held a three-hour meeting on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, describing the encounter as “very good” and “very productive.” The president made the disclosure during a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his delegation.
Trump said another round of talks is set for the “very near future,” though he declined to provide specifics. He also suggested that a potential agreement between Washington and Tehran could bring an end to the fighting that erupted in late February. “I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t want to do it,” Trump said. “It’s greatness, potential greatness, or obliteration.”
The president offered no confirmation of who attended the meeting, referring questions to Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. Witkoff, who was on hand, told reporters, “I feel very good right now.” Trump added, “They had a very good meeting, and we’ll see how it turns out. But certainly, it’s to their advantage to make a deal.”
The comments came just hours after Trump used his UN address to frame the choice before him in stark terms. “Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world?” 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.” The speech drew attention for its threat to annihilate Iran and its defense of an increasingly unpopular conflict.
Trump also predicted that a deal could be reached after November’s midterm elections, arguing that Tehran is waiting to see how he fares. “They’re waiting to see how I do in the midterm election. What they don’t realize is that I’m not running. I did that already, and won in a landslide,” he said, noting he still has two and a half years left in his term. He insisted the midterms do not “even enter my mind.” “The only thing that does is that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
The disclosure of the meeting comes as U.S.-Iran peace negotiations remain at a complete standstill and energy prices continue to climb because of the war. The surge in oil and gas costs, along with high fertilizer prices, has created political headwinds for Republican congressional candidates. The economic fallout has become a central issue in the midterm campaign, with the administration facing pressure to address record diesel prices.
Trump’s remarks at the UN also touched on other global matters, including a proposal to rename artificial intelligence as “super intelligence” and a call to end the war in Ukraine. The president’s meeting with Zelensky came amid heightened tensions over Ukrainian strikes on U.S.-linked assets, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio said had raised alarms ahead of the UN gathering.
While Trump projected optimism about the Iran talks, it remains unclear whether the meeting will produce a breakthrough. The administration has not detailed the agenda or the participants, and Iranian officials have not publicly commented. For now, the president’s account of a three-hour session marks the most concrete sign of diplomatic engagement between the two adversaries in months.
