US President Donald Trump has expressed interest in meeting Iranian officials in New York during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, provided “the conditions are right”, CNN reported, citing a US official familiar with the matter.According to the official, discussions are under way over the possibility of a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. However, no formal encounter has been scheduled yet.The official said a potential meeting could instead involve some of Trump’s top advisers travelling with him in New York. Internal discussions have focused on whether such a meeting could help the administration find a way to end the US war with Iran.There is also uncertainty within the US administration over whether the Iranian diplomats in New York have the backing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has the final say on major matters, the official told CNN.It also remains unclear whether Iranian officials would agree to meet their US counterparts.Iran’s scaled-down delegation at the UN General Assembly includes foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and President Masoud Pezeshkian.Both US secretary of state Marco Rubio and US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz have said Trump remains “open” to talks with Iranian representatives.Waltz told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday that Trump “is always open” to discussions.“That’s a question I wish you could ask the Iranians is, will they sit down directly with us? And who is speaking for the ayatollah? That’s been a continuous issue,” Waltz said.Asked whether Trump planned to meet Pezeshkian in New York, Rubio said Washington was receptive to the possibility, although no meeting had been formally scheduled.“We’re open to that. I don’t think anything is scheduled at this point, but we’re certainly open to something like that, especially if it has the prospects of leading to something positive,” Rubio said in an interview with US broadcaster NBC.Rubio also reiterated Washington’s position on Iran’s nuclear programme, saying the central objective of any diplomatic engagement was to ensure that Tehran never obtains a nuclear weapon.“And that is the fact that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. They just simply can’t,” Rubio said.Neither Washington nor Tehran has confirmed that a face-to-face meeting between Trump and Pezeshkian has been arranged.The possibility of a meeting comes as the nearly seven-month-old US-Iran conflict continues, with both sides issuing warnings amid the lack of a resolution.Trump said on Monday that Iran faced choices including “wiping Iran out,” allowing its economy to “rot” or reaching a deal. He also said he remained in “deciding mode” over Washington’s next steps.“My question is, if and when do I blow the entire nation up,” Trump said. “They better behave.”Iran, meanwhile, has warned that any fresh US military action could widen the conflict.Hossein Mohebbi, spokesperson for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said Tehran would change both its weapons and the geographical scope of the conflict if Washington launched another attack.“If a new aggression takes place, we will definitely change the weapons and geography of the war,” Mohebbi said, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency.Trump on Tuesday addressed UN General Assembly, while his Iranian counterpart Pezeshkian is also expected in New York.The gathering could provide an opportunity for direct contact between Washington and Tehran, even as uncertainty remains over whether such a meeting will take place.
