New York – The United States and Iran held their first high-level diplomatic contact in months on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, a three-hour mediated session that both sides acknowledged publicly — a rare convergence of tone in a war approaching its seventh month, and one that moved global oil prices within hours. President Donald Trump told reporters that his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had spent three hours with the Iranian delegation at UN headquarters, calling it a “very good, very productive meeting” and suggesting another round was near. Witkoff, in a post on X, described “lengthy talks” conducted through mediators who shuttled between the two sides, calling them “constructive and promising.”
Iranian state media confirmed that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi took part, saying Tehran had conveyed its conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz: lifting the US naval blockade, releasing frozen Iranian assets, and ending the war on all fronts.
According to the Reuters, citing a senior Iranian official, reported that Tehran could reopen the strait within seven days if Washington eased military pressure. The Strait of Hormuz remains the war’s most consequential pressure point for the world economy. Shipping through the waterway — the conduit for about a fifth of global oil and gas shipments before the war has been running at roughly 38 percent of pre-war levels, according to Kpler. The mere prospect of progress sent Brent crude below $100 a barrel for the first time in two weeks, according to market reports. The talks unfolded in the shadow of escalation. A day earlier, Trump told the General Assembly he faced a “big decision” on Iran — “potential greatness, or obliteration” — repeating his threat to “annihilate the Islamic Republic” if no deal is reached.
Iran’s delegation walked out of that speech.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian answered from the same podium on Wednesday, vowing Iran would “never bow our head or bend at the knee” while insisting Tehran was ready for negotiations “without accepting the language of force,”.
The war, which began with joint US-Israeli strikes on February 28, has killed thousands and strained global energy markets, with American fuel costs elevated just weeks before November’s midterm elections. For the wider world, the significance is straightforward: Hormuz is the valve on global energy. If Tuesday’s mediated channel holds, the first dividends would flow not to Washington or Tehran, but to the oil-importing economies of Asia, Europe, and Africa watching every barrel.
