Iranian media have reported explosions near Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, as Iranian and US officials held talks at the United Nations
General Assembly in New York. Iran's state news agency IRNA said the cause and impact of the explosion were not immediately clear. Qeshm Island has been the site of several reported explosions since the US-Israeli war on Iran began in February. The reported explosion comes as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday. According to Iranian state media, Araghchi outlined Tehran's conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global energy shipments. The meeting was held at Witkoff's request, according to Iran's state broadcaster IRIB. Araghchi agreed to the meeting to reiterate Iran's conditions for reopening the strategic waterway, which has become a major point of tension during the conflict. IRIB reported that Tehran was demanding the "immediate lifting of the (US) naval blockade, the prompt payment of all Iranian assets that have been frozen, and an end to the war on all resistance fronts". Iranian state media said Araghchi told Witkoff that these conditions would need to be met before the Strait of Hormuz could be reopened.
The meeting came hours after US President Donald Trump confirmed that American and Iranian officials had held talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Trump described the three-hour meeting as "very productive" and said another meeting had already been scheduled for the near future. "They had a very good meeting, a very productive meeting," he told reporters.
Trump did not initially identify the officials involved. Later, while meeting leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council, he said Witkoff and Jared Kushner were part of the US team that met the Iranian delegation.
The talks represent direct diplomatic contact between Washington and Tehran as tensions remain high over the conflict and the future of the Strait of Hormuz.
Earlier, Trump warned that Iran could face "annihilation" if it failed to reach a deal to end the war.
"I have a big decision to make — will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country?" he said in his UN speech. "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?"
During the speech, all but one member of the Iranian delegation walked out. Trump said he believed a deal could be reached after the US midterm elections in November.
