World News Live Updates: US, Iran hold talks hours after Trump threatens to ‘annihilate’ Tehran

President Donald Trump speaks to the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, at the UN headquarters.

US and Iranian officials held an unexpected engagement in New York on Tuesday, hours after US President Donald Trump warned that he could “annihilate” Iran if a deal was not reached to end the nearly seven-month war. Trump said his chief envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, met Iranian officials for about three hours on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, reports the Associated Press. Trump described the meeting as ‘very good’ but shared limited details, saying the Iranian officials were “not the highest level, but it’s something”.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the engagement with the US side took place through a Qatari mediator, Reuters reported citing state news agency IRNA.

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Iran sets conditions for talks with US through Qatari mediator

Iran engaged with the United States through a Qatari mediator in New York and conveyed several conditions for further talks post UNGA session, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told state news agency IRNA.

Baghaei said Iran called for an end to the war on all fronts and a halt to what Tehran described as US “acts of aggression”. Tehran also demanded an end to the naval blockade and economic warfare, as well as the release of Iranian assets, IRNA reported. Earlier Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump was open to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who was in New York for the UN General Assembly. Rubio said Trump believed engaging with counterparts was important to resolving problems, even if it did not necessarily lead to agreement.

Trump meets Venezuela’s Delcy Rodriguez for first time since Maduro’s capture

US President Donald Trump met Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez in New York on Tuesday, their first meeting since US forces captured former President Nicolas Maduro in January. The meeting took place during a reception hosted by Trump at the UN General Assembly. Rodriguez, who is on her first US visit since taking office, is due to address the General Assembly on Wednesday.

Key World Developments:

• Trump praises UK PM Andy Burnham as a “natural business person” after their first meeting.
• South Korean President Lee Jae Myung held a 30-minute meeting with US President Donald Trump in New York, discussing nuclear submarines, wartime operational control and North Korea.
• US President Trump signs the US-Denmark-Greenland agreement to strengthen Arctic security and pave the way for more US bases in Greenland.
• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in New York on Wednesday, a day after Trump and Zelenskyy discussed efforts to end the Ukraine war.
• ShinyHunters, a digital extortion group, claimed it breached the FBI and stole data on current and former employees, while the agency said it was investigating the alleged unauthorised activity.

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