US and Iran Hold Three-Hour Talks at the UN as Trump Says There's 'A Lot of Momentum' for a Deal

U.S. and Iranian officials held lengthy talks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, the clearest sign yet that the diplomatic thaw driving this week's oil-price declines has real substance behind it. President Trump said the meeting ran three hours, and struck an optimistic tone afterward about the odds of a deal.

Who was in the room

Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner attended from the U.S. side, meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Special Envoy Witkoff's office described the process as indirect: U.S. and Iranian delegations engaged through mediators who "shuttled between the two sides throughout the day," successfully completing a round of discussions the envoy's office called potentially "constructive and promising," adding that the mediators will continue their work.

Trump: "a lot of momentum" for a deal

Speaking later, before a meeting with Arab leaders, Trump said Witkoff and Kushner "had a very productive meeting today with mediators of Iran," adding: "I think there's a lot of momentum for them to make a deal. That's what we are hearing from everybody." It's a notably upbeat characterization for a negotiation that, until this week, had been overshadowed by Houthi attacks on Saudi infrastructure and a prolonged Saudi pipeline outage.

Iran's version: this was about the Strait of Hormuz

Iranian state television offered a different framing, saying the meeting was requested by the U.S. and "driven by the need to convey Iran's conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz." Those conditions reportedly include lifting the naval blockade, releasing frozen Iranian assets, and ending the war on all fronts — a reminder that even as both sides describe the talks constructively, the underlying gap between their positions remains wide.