US, Iranian heads in same room. Will talks happen?

Dubai: Iran and the United States hinted on Tuesday at the prospect of reviving negotiations to end their conflict, with the presidents of both countries due at the UN General Assembly in New York.

The event would be the first attended by Donald Trump and Masoud Pezeshkian since Trump launched "Operation Epic Fury" against Iran in February, alongside Israel. Trump had said on Sunday he would be open to a meeting with the Iranian president.

A senior Iranian official said there were no plans for the two leaders to meet directly, but that Iran's delegation had full authority to revive talks.


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Iran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz to Gulf shipping within seven days if the US fulfilled Tehran's demands to ease military pressure and lift an American blockade on Iranian ports, the Iranian official said, adding that Iran had conveyed its latest proposal to Washington via mediators last week.

"The US needs to announce that it wants to resolve the issue diplomatically, make that official, and then agree on a timeline for how the process will move forward," the official said. "The UN General Assembly is a golden opportunity for the US to return to diplomacy."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC's "Today" show the US was open to speaking with the Iranians, "especially if it has the prospects of leading to something positive and ultimately achieving the goal of what this is all about". No face-to-face meetings between Iran and the United States are known to have taken place since July, when an agreement on an interim deal to end the war collapsed.