US President Donald Trump recently informed his inner circle that he desires a sit-down with the Iranian delegation visiting New York for the annual General Debate at the UN "if the conditions are right," an informed American source told CNN.
While no formal meeting is penciled at this moment, the source noted that top presidential aides accompanying the American leader in New York might also participate in any prospective diplomatic gathering.
Internal administration debates regarding a possible sidebar discussion at the UN General Assembly gathering of world leaders focus heavily on whether such a dialogue could genuinely help Washington locate a diplomatic exit from the ongoing US military confrontation with Iran. Furthermore, there are serious doubts about whether the Iranian representatives currently in New York truly operate with the backing of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, whom the administration considers the absolute authority in Tehran, the source detailed.
The source also highlighted that Tehran's readiness to engage in such a meeting remains completely unverified. Masoud Pezeshkian, the Iranian president, alongside Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, currently lead a reduced diplomatic envoy dispatched to the US for the annual UN summit.
Mike Waltz, the US Ambassador to the UN, alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have both communicated that the American leader remains "open" to engaging with the representatives from Tehran.
"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 and ultimately achieving the goal of what this is all about, and that is the fact that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon," Rubio noted during a Tuesday broadcast on NBC's "Today Show".
Speaking with Kaitlan Collins of CNN on Wednesday, Waltz stressed that Trump "is always open" to negotiations.
"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 told CNN.
