US-Iran War highlights: Trump says US- Iran officials held ‘very good’ three-hour meeting

Trump said US officials held a “very good” three-hour meeting with the Iranian delegation on Tuesday.

His remarks suggest Washington remains open to negotiations with Tehran.

The meeting took place amid ongoing US-Iran tensions over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

The meeting came as Trump addressed world leaders at the UN General Assembly in New York.

Trump has earlier said he believes the US and Iran could reach an agreement after the November midterm elections.

Trump rejected claims that the United States was running short of military ammunition.

“It’s not true,” Trump said, referring to suggestions that the US was low on munitions.

“We have more munitions than we could ever possibly even think of using,” he told world leaders.

Trump described Iran as the “number one sponsor of terror” and said the country no longer occupies the same position of power in the Middle East.

“There is no better example of a danger that was allowed to gather strength at the world's peril than the number one sponsor of terror, the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump said.

“For 51 years, the fanatical Iranian regime has ruled by bloodshed and mass murder, spreading death and carnage and chaos across the entire Middle East and beyond. They were the bully of the Middle East, but they are the bully no more,” he added.

Trump again vowed that Iran would not be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon, drawing brief applause.

“I gave absolutely no credence and will not give credence to the election when it comes to Iran. It doesn't even enter my mind. The only thing that does is that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.

“From the first day I entered the political arena, I have been unwavering. I will never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” he added.

Trump urged UN member states to join the United States in economically isolating Iran.

“I call on all nations to join us in enforcing the complete economic isolation of Iran until they stop their attacks on commercial shipping, relinquish their nuclear ambitions, and cease their support of terror,” he said.

Trump said international pressure could also push oil prices lower

Trump said he had a major decision to make over whether to pursue an agreement that would allow Iran to rebuild or take military action against the Islamic Republic.

“I have a big decision to make. Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before?” Trump said.

“Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again. Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?”

US President Donald Trump told the UNGA that he believed Washington could reach an agreement with Tehran shortly after the November midterm elections.

“I believe we'll make a deal right after the election because it doesn't make sense for them not to. They're waiting to see how I do in the midterm election,” Trump said.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebi said the United States had tried to establish contact with the IRGC.

Mohebi said the Guards rejected the alleged US outreach, saying, “We refuse any such contact.”

Mohebi said Iran’s dealings with the US, as long as Washington remains “hostile”, would be conducted “solely through arms.”

The comments came as tensions between Tehran and Washington remain high, with the IRGC taking a hard line on direct contact with the US.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebi said Tehran would “undoubtedly intensify” its response if the US launches new attacks on Iran.

Mohebi said Iran would not merely retaliate if the US attacks again, but would shift to an offensive posture.

He warned that the US would “come to regret” any new military action against Iran.

"If they act recklessly and history repeats itself, our resistance will undoubtedly intensify, bolstered by the experience we have gained. This time, we will not merely retaliate; we will adopt an offensive posture, and America will come to regret its actions, suffering greater humiliation than ever before," said Mohebi in an interview with AFP.

President Donald Trump is expected to defend his decision to launch the war in Iran and expand US military action in the Western Hemisphere during his UN General Assembly speech in New York.

A White House official said Trump will argue that the US is using its power to confront longstanding challenges rather than simply discussing them.

The address will be Trump’s second UN appearance since returning to the White House in early 2025, coming at a markedly different point in his presidency.

Since his last UN appearance, Trump has launched military action alongside Israel against Iran, in a conflict that killed Iran’s supreme leader and disrupted the wider Middle East and global energy markets.

Iraqi travel agencies warn the US measure to shut Iranian airlines could severely affect business, particularly pilgrimage and religious travel between Iraq and Iran.

Iranian airlines are widely used to transport Iraqi pilgrims to Iran’s holy cities and Iranian travellers to religious sites in Iraq.

Iraq has not officially announced how it will enforce the US ban, although two sources told AFP that Baghdad is expected to comply.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iranian airlines will “shut down” from September 23 after Washington imposed sanctions on all remaining Iranian airlines not previously penalised.

Travel agencies are exploring road journeys to Iran as an alternative, particularly because Iraqi airlines stopped flying to Iran after the Middle East war began in February.

Travelling by road can take considerably longer. A trip to Qom could take more than 12 hours from the Iran-Iraq border, compared with only a few hours by air.

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday, according to the Kremlin.

The two leaders stressed the need for safe and unimpeded passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb.

Putin and MBS exchanged views on the wider Middle East situation and backed a political and diplomatic settlement.

They called for a swift cessation of hostilities amid worsening military and political tensions in Yemen.

Disruptions in the Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb have affected two key Saudi oil export routes, forcing Riyadh to rely more on routes through Egypt's Suez Canal.

The plane carrying Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to New York made a brief stop in Algeria on Tuesday, Nournews, a media outlet close to Iran's Supreme National Security Council, reported.

Pezeshkian left Tehran earlier on Tuesday to attend the UN General Assembly.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, speaking aboard a plane to New York for the UN General Assembly, said on Tuesday he wanted the assembly to help bring an end to "war and bloodshed" and restore trust in the world.

An Israeli court on Tuesday sentenced Fares Abu al-Hija, 32, to 55 months in prison for carrying out tasks for an alleged Iranian agent. Prosecutors said he recorded locations in Tel Aviv and near former defence minister Yoav Gallant’s home, hid phones and money, and left a cryptocurrency wallet password. He was paid about $3,600, prosecutors said.

Abu al-Hija pleaded guilty to contact with a foreign agent under a deal. The court also imposed a two-year suspended sentence, saying he suspected his Telegram contact was an Iranian agent but did not investigate further.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian faced domestic criticism on Tuesday over his trip to New York for the UN General Assembly. Lawmaker Mojtaba Yousefi said Pezeshkian should have stayed away to protest what he called US aggression and broken commitments.

Saudi Arabia has restarted its East-West oil pipeline and could resume crude exports from the Red Sea port of Yanbu later on Tuesday, Reuters reported, citing three sources briefed on the matter.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Tuesday warned the US against attacking Pickaxe Mountain or any other site in Iran, saying Tehran was prepared to retaliate.

“If the United States wants to attack any point in Iran - not just Pickaxe Mountain and not just the location it has threatened - we are fully prepared to stand against a US attack,” Guards spokesperson Hossein Mohebi told Defa Press.

Pickaxe Mountain, or Kuh-e Kolang, is an underground complex near Iran's Natanz nuclear site that US President Donald Trump has threatened to attack. Mohebi also urged US leaders “not to repeat what they have tried before and failed at.”

Commodity vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell to just two on Monday from 10 a day earlier, according to preliminary Kpler data released on Tuesday, Reuters reported.