US and Iran resume talks as Trump threatens ‘annihilation’
Qatar mediated the first discussions since the June ceasefire collapsed. No agreement was reported as Iran called for an end to the war and US “acts of aggression”.
Senior US and Iranian officials held their first talks since a ceasefire collapsed in June, with Qatar mediating discussions at the United Nations in New York. No breakthrough was reported.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff took part. Witkoff said mediators had shuttled between the delegations and would continue their work; the account does not establish that the officials met directly.
Iran’s conditions, conveyed through the Qatari mediator, included ending the war on all fronts and US “acts of aggression”, according to Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei, quoted by state broadcaster IRNA.
The talks took place amid renewed threats from US President Donald Trump, who said he could “annihilate” Iran if no deal was reached. He also said he believed a deal could follow November’s US elections.
The BBC reported that the sides have exchanged fire intermittently since the ceasefire unravelled. The conflict has included disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a route used before the war for about 20 per cent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas.
