President Donald Trump said Tuesday that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held “very good” three-hour talks with Iranian representatives on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly as Washington and Tehran consider a possible agreement over Iran’s nuclear program.
The meeting took place shortly after Trump addressed the General Assembly, where he said he faced a “big decision” between reaching an agreement with Tehran and destroying the Islamic Republic.
President Trump said another meeting would follow, while Witkoff said afterward that he “feels very good” about the discussions.
“They want to talk to us, they are talking to us, even today they are talking to us. The relationship is developing,” the president said earlier during a meeting with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham. “But we cannot allow them—and they understand—we cannot allow them to obtain a nuclear weapon.”
During his UN address, Trump predicted an agreement could come after the US midterm elections, saying Iran was waiting to see the outcome. He said the vote would not affect his decision-making, adding, “The only thing that does is that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.”
President Trump said he had previously offered Tehran economic cooperation in return for ending its nuclear program and support for terrorism but was rejected. He cited Operation Midnight Hammer and Operation Epic Fury while discussing his use of military force after negotiations failed.
“Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?” Trump asked.
Following Tuesday’s talks, he again presented Iran with two possible paths.
“It has the potential for greatness or destruction. Those are the two options: in one case, destruction, and the other option is greatness. Iran can be a great country.”
Hours earlier, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran was prepared to resume negotiations and that its delegation, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, had “full authority” to revive diplomacy with Washington. The official ruled out a meeting between President Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
President Trump was also scheduled to meet Tuesday with Arab leaders and ministers, including representatives from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
