Please follow us on Truth Social, X, YouTube, Minds, Telegram, Rumble, GETTR, Gab, Instagram
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and White House advisor Jared Kushner secretly met for three hours with Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and his team on Tuesday at the United Nations in New York hours after President Trump told the General Assembly that Iran is facing a choice between a deal with the US or destruction.
US President Trump confirmed that the meeting between the two delegations was "very good" and said that another meeting would take place in the near future. According to the President, Iran has two options: "one bad thing and the other would be so good for the country."
US sources at the talks have spoken to Israel Hayom to confirm that the Foreign Minister of Iran, Abbas Araghchi, and his team were present. Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani acted as mediators throughout the session, moving between the two delegations. The secret talks had been set up in advance and went against the earlier claims of the US administration that no such talks were planned for the day.
Witkoff posted late Tuesday night on X: "Today, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, we engaged in lengthy talks with the Iranian delegation through the mediators, who successfully completed a round of discussions that we hope will prove constructive and promising."
According to sources, the talks focused on setting conditions for a return to formal negotiations, with the key demand of Iran being the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz that has been closed for months as a result of the war. As for major disputes that have arisen during the fighting, no agreement was reached in the session. The session was described by the sources as "preliminary" but also "historic" in nature, and the first direct and substantial talks between the two sides since the start of the conflict.
The U.S. President outlined his hardline position, reiterating that Iran's nuclear program and support of terrorism must come to an end. Alternatively, Trump added, the U.S. could "dismantle" the Iranian regime. "There's only one deal," he said.
The path ahead remains uncertain until the follow-up meetings yield results. But for now, the historic talks held at the UN are the biggest news story of all — that the two sides had actually talked, wrote Al Jazeera.
