Trump says US and Iranian officials met Tuesday, shortly after warning he may 'annihilate' Iran

President Donald Trump claimed that U.S. and Iranian officials met on Tuesday, despite his recent threat to annihilate Iran if a deal is not reached to end the ongoing war. During his speech at the U.N. General Assembly, Trump mentioned that his chief envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, had a three-hour meeting with Iranian officials on the sidelines of the event.

However, he did not provide further details about the discussions or their content. Trump characterized the meeting as "very good" and noted that the Iranian officials were not the highest level, but acknowledged it as something. The engagement follows a period of limited U.S.-Iran communications since the collapse of a brief ceasefire in June.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Trump is open to meeting with Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, while he is in New York for the General Assembly. Trump also met with leaders from Gulf Cooperation Council nations, Jordan, and other countries during the U.N. General Assembly, primarily to discuss the path forward in the ongoing war with Iran.

In his address, Trump defended his decision to start a war with Iran, arguing that he has shown strength while other leaders have been indecisive. He also proposed that Iran could either become one of the greatest countries in the Middle East or face annihilation. The president's speech highlighted his firm stance against Iran's actions and marked the first meeting between Trump and the acting President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, since Trump ordered the mission to capture Maduro in January.