US and Iran hold three-hour meeting at UN

US President Donald Trump said American officials held a three-hour meeting with members of Iran's delegation on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, marking a rare direct contact between the two countries as their nearly seven-month-old conflict continues. "It was a good meeting ... It's to their advantage to make a deal," Trump said, adding that the alternative to an agreement was "obliteration." No ceasefire or comprehensive agreement was announced following the meeting. Trump declined to specify exactly who attended, though reports indicated that US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner participated on the American side, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi representing Tehran. Iranian state media identified the encounter as a meeting between Araghchi and Witkoff. During the meeting, Iran conveyed its conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian state media. Tehran is demanding the immediate lifting of the naval blockade, the release of frozen Iranian assets, and an end to the war across what it describes as all "resistance" fronts.