Trump Threatens Iran at UN, Then Announces Resumed Talks

Donald Trump announced Tuesday that dialogue with Tehran had resumed to end a conflict weighing on him politically, just minutes after threatening Iran at the UN. He said an agreement was possible after November's US midterm elections, where Republicans risk losing Congress partly due to high fuel prices from the war. The 80-year-old Republican revealed talks between Tehran and Washington had restarted during a press point with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, after being suspended since June following a failed memorandum. Trump described a three-hour meeting as "very good," with another discussion planned soon. US envoy Steve Witkoff said mediators shuttled between both parties during UN General Assembly talks, calling the cycle "constructive and promising." Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attended, demanding immediate lifting of the US naval blockade, release of frozen Iranian assets, and an end to wars on all fronts for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Trump's UN address mixed peace promises with martial declarations, boasting of capturing Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and gaining access to oil reserves, while threatening military power in South America and predicting Cuba's fall. Cuban and Iranian delegates walked out. He also claimed a Russia-Ukraine deal was "closer than people think" and signed a Greenland security agreement with Denmark, though it fell short of his annexation ambition. His nationalist rhetoric caused less commotion than last year, possibly due to domestic political troubles or world familiarity with his style.