Donald Trump says US, Iranian officials met, shortly after warning he may 'annihilate' Iran

President Donald Trump said US and Iranian officials met Tuesday an unexpected engagement that came even as he threatened in his address to the UN General Assembly that he may annihilate the Islamic Republic if a deal isnt reached soon to end the nearly sevenmonth warTrump told reporters that his chief envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with the Iranian officials on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders but he offered few details about how the discussions transpired or the substance of the exchangeIt was a very good meeting Trump said The president later added that the Iranian officials were not the highest level but its somethingThe engagement comes after months of USIran communications languishing following the collapse of a shortlived ceasefire that was brokered in JuneUS and Iranian negotiators met separately with Qatari and Pakistani mediators in Doha in early July for indirect talksEarlier Tuesday Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Trump is open to meeting with Irans president Masoud Pezeshkian while hes in New York for the General AssemblyThis is a president that will meet with anybody for the most part because he believes that engaging with people is important if youre going to solve problems Rubio said on NBCs Today show It doesnt mean youre going to end up agreeing with them but its importantTrump also met on Tuesday with leaders and senior officials from Gulf Cooperation Council nations Bahrain Kuwait Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates as well as Jordan to discuss the way ahead with the war in IranIn his address to the General Assembly Trump made the case that hes shown fortitude while other leaders have equivocated as he defended his decision to start a war with IranBut Trump also suggested that he could be at a crossroads in the conflict even as he called on the Islamic Republic to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz and return to the negotiating table to find a settlement to end the conflictI have a big decision to make Trump said Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries againThe Presidents comments came in his wideranging address to the international body in which he also celebrated this years US military operation to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power a new agreement to expand the US military presence in Greenland and pushed back against calls for greater regulation of the artificial intelligence industryBut at the heart of the address was a fulsome defence of the war and pushback on the notion that Iran has shown a measure of resilienceThe terrorist regime is behaving badly not because they are strong and confident but because they are weak and desperate Trump saidMost of Irans delegation walked out of the chamber as Trump railed against the Islamic RepublicAfter his speech Trump gathered with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister JensFrederik Nielsen on the sidelines of the General Assembly to sign a new security agreementThe deal announced last week came together after Trump repeatedly threatened to take over Greenland a territory of NATOally Denmark by military force if necessaryTrump said Tuesday the US will immediately begin the process of developing a larger military presence in Greenland including building two very major military basesUnder the deal Greenland remains Denmarks territoryTrump also held talks with new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr ZelenskyyHes expected to hold a more informal meeting on Tuesday evening with Venezuelas acting President Delcy Rodriguez according to the White HouseTrump also took part in an event on the Shield of Americas an initiative Trump launched with Latin American countries earlier this year focused on combatting violent cartelsThe visit to the UN comes as Trumps foreign policy approach particularly his decision to start a war with Iran has become a drag on his fellow Republicans hopes of retaining control of both chambers of Congress during the coming midterm electionsNevertheless Trump made the case in his speech that the world is better off for his leadershipI have no interest in leaving dangers to grow for another day Trump saidIn last years address at the UN Trump claimed the US had demolished Irans nuclear capabilities after he ordered the June 2025 bombardment of three key facilitiesHe returned to the General Assembly nearing the sevenmonth mark of a new war against Iran that he insists is necessary to address a nuclear threat posed by IranThe war has grown more complicated even though strikes by the United States and Israel have killed much of Irans top leadership and destroyed its air force and navy while a US blockade of Iranian oil has left Tehran in economic shamblesThe energy market continues to be spooked by the war and oil prices remain elevatedSaudi Arabia earlier this month shuttered a key pipeline that acted as a relief valve for oil blocked in the Gulf The kingdom made the move after the pipeline came under attack by Iranbacked militants in IraqAt the same time territorial grabs by the Yemenbased Houthi rebels another Iranianbacked group near the Bab alMandab Strait has now made it treacherous for oil carriers to use that Red Sea shipping laneIn his address the president also touched on Russias continuing war against Ukraine a conflict that during his 2024 campaign he predicted would be resolved on Day One of his second term He once again expressed hope that the conflict will soon be resolvedTrump hasnt obscured that his patience is being tested by Ukraines targeting of Russias diesel refineries an issue thats added to the global oil markets volatility and Russias targeting ofUkraines energy gridTrump last week asserted that he got the two sides to agree to not target each others energy infrastructureZelenskyy had said he was willing to go along with Trumps plan if Russia abided by it Russia said it could only go along with Trumps energy truce proposal if Western energy sanctions on Moscow were lifted firstThe two sides have continued carrying out strikes on refineries and other energy infrastructureTrump noted that last week he signed a new sanctions bill targeting Moscow It empowers him to impose up to 100 tariffs on the top five importers of Russian oil or natural gasThe legislation includes an exception for countries that import less than 15 of Russias natural gas exports and have taken significant steps to reduce those imports Trump however has yet to enact the stiff penaltiesIf necessary I will have to use them Trump said Its time to stop the killingThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no 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