Abbas Araghchi Heads to New York as Trump’s Threats Precede a Possible Meeting

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Tehran on Sunday evening, heading to New York to participate in United Nations General Assembly meetings, with a short stop in the Qatari capital Doha before continuing to the United States, Tasnim news agency reported.

Araghchi’s trip comes as tensions between Iran and the United States escalate, alongside mixed signals from US President Donald Trump, who has intensified his rhetoric toward Tehran while at the same time keeping open the possibility of holding a meeting with Iranian President Masoud Bazhshkyan.

Threat and possible meeting

Trump said in remarks during an interview with Fox News that he is “in a position to make a decision” regarding Iran, and that his options include continuing economic pressure or reaching an agreement, while also threatening that Iran could face destruction if it does not reach a deal.

Despite the escalatory tone, Trump said he would be open to meeting Bazhshkyan during the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York this week, as the Iranian president and his foreign minister prepare to arrive in the city to participate in the UN sessions.

Tehran insists on negotiation

On the Iranian side, Bazhshkyan said earlier that Tehran is not closing the door on a negotiated solution, but tied the resumption of the diplomatic track to the United States returning to its commitments under the interim understanding signed in June.

The Iranian president said Iran would respond immediately if Washington returned to fulfilling its commitments, noting that war is not in the interest of any party and that Tehran remains open to a solution reached through negotiations, Reuters reported.

On 12 September, Bazhshkyan said that earlier diplomatic efforts via Pakistan and the Sultanate of Oman had not failed because of Tehran, affirming his country’s readiness for dialogue if Washington honors its commitments.

Resumption of war

Iranian forces had warned of the possibility of resuming war and launching attacks on Iranian territory, while the Joint Command of the Iranian Armed Forces said in a statement on Sunday that “Tehran has received information that the United States is preparing to resume combat operations.”

This warning followed remarks by the speaker of the Iranian Majlis, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, earlier today that his country had conveyed its conditions to the American side for reopening the Strait of Hormuz via intermediaries. The chief Iranian negotiator said, “Unless these conditions are met, the legitimate rights of the Iranian people are recognized, and American commitments are implemented, there will be no window to return to previous negotiating conditions or to reopen the Strait of Hormuz,” IRNA reported.

Earlier, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaee likewise said there would be no return to negotiations except through implementation of his country’s seven conditions.

Doha involved in mediation

Meanwhile, mediators’ efforts continue to bring Tehran and Washington back to the negotiating table. Iran, through Qatari intermediaries, submitted conditions for returning to talks, including an end to the war on all fronts, the release of frozen Iranian funds, and an end to the naval blockade, Reuters reported.

Washington also allowed Bazhshkyan, Araghchi and core members of the Iranian delegation to enter the United States to participate in the General Assembly meetings despite the ongoing state of war between the two countries, a step that comes amid sporadic diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, the Associated Press reported.

Contradictory messages

As New York prepares to receive the Iranian delegation for the General Assembly, the US‑Iran track remains open to several possibilities, amid continuing military threats on one hand and insistence on the possibility of negotiations on the other. Araghchi’s arrival in New York comes at a time when any potential meeting between Trump and Bazhshkyan remains tied to developments in the negotiations and the positions of both sides in the coming days.