American and Iranian officials held a three-hour meeting in New York on Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. US President Donald Trump described the talks as very good and noted that another round is scheduled in the very near future. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner attended the meeting, while Iran was represented by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Trump later indicated that the engagement took place through mediators rather than face to face, while Iranian state television reported that Washington requested the meeting.
The talks marked the first meeting between the two sides since mid-June and came hours after a combative General Assembly speech by Trump, which caused the Iranian delegation to walk out. Tehran framed the meeting as an opportunity to state its conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which include lifting the US naval blockade, releasing frozen Iranian assets, and ending hostilities on all fronts. Meanwhile, Iran’s president arrived in New York to highlight US oppression. Any easing around Hormuz would impact India due to its heavy reliance on Gulf energy supplies and its large expatriate community in the region, and oil markets are likely to monitor the situation for signs of a breakthrough.