US and Iran envoys Meet as Trump Threatens to 'Annihilate'

American and Iranian officials held talks on the UNGA sidelines after Trump warned he may 'annihilate' Iran if no deal ends the six-month war.

US and Iranian officials met in New York shortly after President Donald Trump used his UN General Assembly speech to warn he may "annihilate" the Islamic Republic if a deal is not reached soon to end the war, which the US and Israel launched on February 28. Trump told reporters the talks took place, calling them "a very good meeting," and Middle East Eye reports a follow-up session is already scheduled. The discussion lasted roughly three hours and involved envoys including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

The surprise is the gap between the rhetoric and the diplomacy. Hours after threatening to annihilate Iran, Trump confirmed officials from both countries had sat down together — and the administration is simultaneously signaling openness at the very top: according to WRAL, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump is open to meeting Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, while he is in New York. Iran's joint military command dismissed the threat as "domestic propaganda" showing "strategic desperation," yet Tehran still sent a delegation.

Pezeshkian struck a defiant note before boarding his flight from Tehran, accusing the US of doing "everything they can to block every possible route in order to force our nation and our people to surrender," while warning Iran is wary of new talks after twice being attacked during active negotiations. Meanwhile, the Gulf Cooperation Council's head, Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi, called for Iran and allied groups to cease attacks on Gulf states, saying disruptions at the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb have rattled oil markets with "worldwide fallout."

The Jerusalem Post reports Israeli security officials fear the region is approaching broader escalation as flashpoints converge: US-Iran confrontation, Saudi Arabia's campaign against the Houthis, Hezbollah's military buildup, and West Bank tensions. According to the report, mediators between Tehran and Washington have so far failed to produce positive developments, and officials assess Iran is holding firm — refusing to abandon its nuclear project or reopen the Strait of Hormuz — because it believes Trump is reluctant to return to active fighting.

The war loomed over the Assembly's opening speeches. Jordan's King Abdullah II decried an "expansionist appetite" by Israel, equating the destruction in Gaza and de facto annexation in the West Bank to an attempt to erase the Palestinian presence. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the denial of a US visa to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas an "injustice" and urged all UN members to recognize Palestinian statehood. Displaced Palestinians in Gaza voiced frustration that UN meetings produce proposals "but not meaningful" action.

Trump is scheduled to meet Gulf Cooperation Council representatives on Tuesday in New York, and another round of US-Iran talks is planned "in the very near future," per Middle East Eye. Washington's leverage, analysts at The Washington Institute note, runs through Beijing, still Iran's chief economic lifeline.