International desk – Top officials from Iran and the United States have held talks in New York despite US President Donald Trump saying he could “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if the current conflict remains unresolved.
Trump, while addressing the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, threatened to annihilate Iran if negotiations fail.
He said he faces a big decision, predicting that no deal with Tehran would come until after the US midterm elections in November.
During his address, the US President defended the US-Israeli war with Iran and accused Tehran of deliberately delaying an agreement to bring to an end to the conflict.
“But 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 asked, before presenting the alternative: “Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly?”
“Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?” he continued.
Trump’s statement caused anger among the Iranian delegation at the UNGA, and they staged a walkout in protest against the threat issued by the US President at a global forum.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, told an Iranian news agency that the remarks were nothing more than “repeated claims and allegations” that showed desperation.
“The impression shared by diplomats and delegations from many countries here was that these remarks did not stem from strength, but from desperation,” he said.
Turning the UNGA, the largest international gathering, into a scene for making remarks that are “entirely unlawful” and contrary to diplomatic norms is not a sign of strength, Baqaei added.
“Threatening a country with military attack is an admission of the nature of the current ruling establishment in the United States and an admission of committing international crimes,” the spokesperson said.
Trump said later that Washington and Tehran would “definitely get it done… one way or the other.” He also called on other countries to join the US in enforcing the “complete economic isolation” of Iran until it meets Washington’s conditions.
He also accused Tehran of seeking nuclear weapons, supporting terrorism, and attacking commercial shipping.
The US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on 28 February 2026. Iran responded by attacking Israel and US bases in the Gulf and Arab Gulf allies of the US, and by blocking the Strait of Hormuz.
One-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas used to pass through the strait before the war, and its closure has caused wild price fluctuations across the globe.
Qatar-mediated talks between Iran and the US on the sideline of the UNGA, however, yielded no breakthrough. President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, represented the US side, while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi led his side at the discussion.
Witkoff said a round of discussions had been completed “that we hope will prove constructive and promising.” Iran repeated its demand for the US to end its “acts of aggression.”
According to the Iranian spokesperson, Tehran’s conditions include an end to fighting on all fronts, a halt to US acts of aggression, an end to the US naval blockade and economic war against Iran, and the release of Iranian assets.
He said Iran has also conveyed its conditions for diplomacy in recent weeks, including its position on issues such as the security of the Strait of Hormuz.
“Today, the presence of our delegation in New York provided an opportunity to clearly convey these points to the American side.”
