Trump says US, Iran held ‘very good’ meeting, another scheduled soon

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that members of his team held a three-hour meeting with an Iranian delegation in New York which concluded an hour before his news conference.

"Yeah, today. About an hour ago," Trump said when asked if anyone from his team had met with the Iranian delegation, noting that the meeting went "very well."

"It ended an hour ago. It was a meeting that lasted for three hours," he said, noting that "it was a very good meeting. I mean, I must tell you it was very good. I can't imagine why they wouldn't want to do it."

Arguing that Iran is facing a stark choice, he said: "In one case, it's obliteration, and the other alternative is potential greatness. It could be a great country."

Asked who attended the meeting, Trump directed the question to US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and asked if they wanted to comment.

He later said that "they had a very good meeting, a very productive meeting, and they have another one scheduled in the very near future."

"There's two alternatives," Trump said. "One is a very bad thing, and another, it could lead to greatness for the country."

Witkoff said: "I feel very good right now. I feel very good. It's a blessing working for President Trump."

Witkoff said separately in a post on the US social media platform X that the US and Iranian delegations held “lengthy talks” on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly "through the mediators, who shuttled between the two sides throughout the day."

"They successfully completed a round of discussions that we hope will prove constructive and promising. The mediators will continue their work," he added.

Citing Iranian officials, a New York Times report said the Iranian delegation was headed by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

It claimed that the meeting was mediated by Pakistan and Qatar, while sources said the talks focused on reaching a deal between Washington and Tehran.