US President Donald Trump announced that a peace deal with Iran is imminent, saying his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held “highly successful” talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The diplomatic contact was the first since the temporary truce collapsed in August.
Iran confirmed the meeting but attached tough conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran is demanding an immediate lift of the naval blockade, the removal of US sanctions, the release of frozen assets, and a halt to hostilities. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a statement stressing that conducting military operations while negotiating peace is not contradictory. Iranian state media added that the country was not taking President Trump’s earlier threats to “wipe the Islamic Republic off the map” seriously.
The seven‑month conflict has spread to the Red Sea, but markets greeted the New York talks with marked optimism. Brent futures dropped below $100 per barrel on hopes of rapid de‑escalation. Trump, for his part, was candid about the politics: he said any final agreement would most likely be signed only after the November midterm elections.
