President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his negotiating team met with Iranian officials for three hours on the outskirts of the United Nations General Assembly.
The president’s comments came during a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in New York, but Trump and lead negotiator Steve Witkoff, who was in the room during the announcement, were hesitant to give substantive details about the meeting with Iran.
“It was a meeting that lasted for three hours — very good meeting, as I understand it,” Trump told reporters.
“I can’t imagine. In one case, it’s obliteration, and the other alternative is potential greatness,” he added. “Could be a great country. Certainly, it’s to their advantage to make a deal, and we can do that. Preferable, I guess. You know, there’s two alternatives, and you heard them in my speech. One is a very bad thing, and another, it could lead to greatness for the country. So I would think they’d want to do that.”
Witkoff was even more vague in his remarks, telling reporters that he feels “very good” after the sit-down and that “it’s a blessing working for President Trump.”
Earlier in the day, the president signaled during his address to the General Assembly that he could begin a new phase of the war after the midterm elections in November.
TRUMP DEFENDS IRAN WAR IN SUBDUED ADDRESS TO WORLD LEADERS
“I have a big decision to make,” Trump told the gathered dignitaries. “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 again? Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?”
Trump’s comments can be seen in full below.