US, Iran hold 'very good' talks in NY

US President Donald Trump says US and Iranian officials held a "very good" meeting on Tuesday, an unexpected engagement that came even as he threatened that he may "annihilate" Tehran if a deal isn't reached soon to end the nearly seven-month conflict.

Trump told reporters on Tuesday that his chief envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, met for about three hours with Iranian officials on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly. Iranian state media also confirmed the meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Witkoff.

"It was a very productive meeting. I think there's a lot of momentum for them to make a deal," Trump said, expressing optimism that an agreement could be reached following the US midterm elections, while offering few specifics on the negotiation details.

Oil prices retreated sharply on Wednesday, with Brent crude settling at $98.91 per barrel and US WTI crude at $89.93 in early Asian trading, falling below the key $100 threshold that had persisted since the outbreak of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February.

The latest diplomatic engagement broke months of stalled US-Iran exchanges, after a short-lived ceasefire brokered in June collapsed. The two sides previously held indirect negotiations in early July in Doha, with Qatar and Pakistan serving as intermediaries.

"Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world. Or will I annihilate the Islamic republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?" Trump said in his speech at the assembly.

Iran's Armed Forces swiftly dismissed Trump's UN remarks as sheer "propaganda" in a Tuesday statement, vowing "full combat readiness to deliver severe, crushing and unpredictable retaliatory strikes against any aggressors".

But away from the fiery rhetoric, discussions continued to try to end the conflict that began with joint US-Israeli strikes and has since killed thousands, sent oil prices soaring and roiled the Middle East.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei confirmed on Wednesday that Tehran engaged in mediated communications with Washington in New York, and formally put forward its core demands for resuming substantive negotiations.

Iran's conditions included an end to the naval blockade and economic warfare, and the release of Iranian assets, state news agency IRNA reported.

Witkoff said in a posting on X that Tuesday's talks were conducted through mediators who shuttled between the US and Iranian teams. He added that he was hopeful the effort "will prove constructive and promising".

Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump is open to meeting with Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, during the annual gathering of world leaders.

Diplomacy urged

In Tehran, Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said diplomacy should be used to turn military strength into political gains. "Diplomacy is not surrender. It is about turning strength on the battlefield into political gains," he said.

The Gulf is experiencing "one of the most dangerous phases" due to the US-Israel conflict with Iran that "can be resolved through diplomatic means", Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani told the General Assembly.

Reaffirming Qatar's role as a "trusted mediator", Tamim said on Tuesday that diplomacy would lead to a lasting solution ensuring security for the entire region, including Iran.

Also on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud branded Yemen's Houthi movement a "terrorist militia" and accused the group of repeatedly targeting the holy city of Mecca, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

Houthi attacks this month, increasingly targeting Saudi cities, energy infrastructure and shipping, have marked one of the greatest threats to Saudi Arabia's security in years.

The Houthis said on Tuesday that Saudi warplanes carried out 19 airstrikes across three Yemeni provinces over the previous 24 hours, reporting 17 killed and 11 wounded in the latest raids.

Agencies and Xinhua contributed to this story.