Diplomatic Contacts Intensify in New York between Iran and U.S

Diplomatic contacts between Iran and the United States have intensified in New York in an effort to end the war, with U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, meeting with Iranian officials and mediators.  According to Reuters, Donald Trump confirmed that the meeting between the U.S. and Iranian sides lasted nearly three hours and described it as “very good and productive.” He said another meeting between the two sides was expected soon.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said that Iran had contacted the United States through Qatari mediators. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff also gave a similar account of the talks, saying that the United States had held lengthy indirect negotiations with the Iranian delegation through mediators. He said the mediators had been moving between the two sides throughout the day and that one round of talks had been successfully completed, with hopes that it would prove constructive.  Reuters, citing Iranian state media, further reported that Abbas Araghchi met with Steve Witkoff at Witkoff’s “strong insistence” and briefed him on Iran’s conditions for ending the war on all fronts, lifting the U.S. naval blockade, removing economic sanctions and restoring Iranian assets frozen abroad.

According to Iranian officials, Tehran is also prepared to discuss reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but this would require a reduction in U.S. military pressure and an end to the naval blockade of Iranian ports. Earlier, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within a week if the United States reduced military pressure and lifted the blockade of Iranian ports.  U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had also said that President Trump was prepared to meet with the Iranian delegation on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session.

Meanwhile, Trump said on the same day that he had to make “a big decision” regarding whether to reach an agreement with Iran or continue the war. He said he would have to choose between a deal that would give Iran an opportunity to rebuild and “destroying” the Islamic Republic. According to Trump, the decision would be made after the U.S. midterm elections in November.

The war between Iran and the United States has been ongoing for nearly seven months. The latest diplomatic efforts come at a time when maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen to almost zero, severely affecting global energy markets. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has also arrived in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, although no direct meeting between the two presidents has been announced.