U.S. and Iranian representatives held talks in New York on September 22 during the U.N. General Assembly; Trump said the meeting lasted three hours and called it productive. Iran said it conveyed conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and resuming diplomacy through Qatari mediation, including ending the war on all fronts and lifting the U.S. naval blockade. Trump praised the meeting, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the contacts had produced no progress and were not a major breakthrough.
Summary written by our automated pipeline from the outlets' reporting. How it works
Grouped by where each speaker is from. Quotation marks are the speaker's own words; other lines are our summaries.
“They successfully completed a round of discussions that we hope will prove constructive and promising”
Quoted in BBC News
Witkoff said he felt very good about the meeting.
Our summary of The Guardian
“…the immediate lifting of the (US) naval blockade, the prompt payment of all Iranian assets that have been frozen, and an end to the war on all resistance fronts”
Quoted in France 24, via IRIB
Iran demanded a regional ceasefire, the unfreezing of its foreign assets, the lifting of oil sanctions and an end to the US naval blockade.
Our summary of France 24 · also 2 other outlets
“…an end to the disruptions to Iranian commercial maritime traffic and the lifting of sanctions”
Quoted in France 24
Iranian diplomats considered their meeting with Witkoff productive but doubted that the US would deliver on the plan.
Our summary of The Guardian
Points where outlets or parties give conflicting facts or readings. Each side is summarised by our pipeline; its sources are listed under it.
Some accounts described direct talks between U.S. and Iranian representatives.
Witkoff and Iranian officials described messages or discussions moving through Qatari mediators.
Steve Witkoff, U.S. presidential envoy · our summary of Fox News
“The interaction that took place was through Qatari mediation.”
Reactions from other countries and bodies, others involved, and commentary.
Saudi Arabia is concerned that the route agreement is bilateral between Iran and Oman rather than signed jointly with the Gulf states.
Our summary of The Guardian
The official described coordination with Washington as strong and continuous but doubted mediation would produce a US-Iran deal.
Our summary of The Times of Israel, via Al-Hadath
“…the Trump administration has met with the Iranians”
Quoted in NPR
Iran's stated conditions were the lifting of the US-led maritime blockade, the unfreezing of Iranian assets, and an end to the war on all fronts.
Our summary of The Hankyoreh, via Iranian state media
Axios reported that Iran wanted talks to focus on the Strait of Hormuz and the US naval blockade, while the Trump administration was demanding Iranian concessions on the nuclear issue.
Our summary of The Hankyoreh, via Axios
Iranian analysts say Iran wants reciprocal concessions rather than negotiations under full pressure.
Our summary of Daily Jang, via Arab media
“Ultimately, if the positions remain the same, the fact that they’re oscillating between shooting and talking doesn’t mean much because the red lines haven’t actually moved”
Quoted in Fox News
Stephen Innes said the three-hour meeting shifted the market's focus from escalation toward a diplomatic process, though a final agreement still appeared distant.
Our summary of Clarín
“La reunión de tres horas entre Estados Unidos e Irán es importante porque desplaza al mercado de una cotización basada exclusivamente en la escalada hacia un proceso diplomático…”
No translation yet.
Slavin said the recent Qatar-mediated indirect contacts between Washington and Tehran were too limited and fragile to produce a serious breakthrough.
Our summary of France 24
Experts cautioned against interpreting the meeting as a sign of progress in the stalled conflict between the two parties at war.
Our summary of Der Spiegel
Each outlet's headline, linked to its article. Non-English headlines are machine-translated. The groupings and notes on what each outlet emphasises are automated.
None of our outlets is based in Yemen. Our outlets in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Ukraine didn't cover it. No statements from the government or officials of Qatar, Ukraine, China or Yemen are in our sources.
Written by our automated pipeline from the statements in the coverage; each point lists the statements it rests on.
The September 22 contact lasted about three hours and involved U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to Trump and other accounts.
Donald Trump, U.S. president · our summary of Yonhap News Agency
Our summary of France 24
Our summary of Yonhap News Agency
Iran said its conditions included ending the war on all fronts, lifting the U.S. naval blockade, releasing frozen assets and recognizing a safe route through the Strait of Hormuz.
Esmaeil Baqaei, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson · our summary of The Hindu
Ismail Baghaei, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson · our summary of RIA Novosti
U.S. officials differed in emphasis: Trump described the meeting as productive, while Rubio said there had been no progress and cautioned against calling it a breakthrough.
Iranian state media and Iranian official accounts: They foregrounded Iran's conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and said the message was conveyed through Qatari mediation.
U.S. officials and U.S.-focused reporting: Coverage emphasized Trump's positive assessment and the possible diplomatic opening; Rubio later stressed that there had been no progress or major breakthrough.
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Abbas Araghchi adjusts his glasses during a meeting with foreign envoys at Iran’s foreign ministry in Tehran, January 12, 2026.
File:Foreign Minister's Meeting with Ambassadors and Heads of Foreign Missions in Tehran 13 (Images published by Mehr News on 12 January 2026).jpg · Foad Ashtari · CC BY 4.0
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