No US-Iran meeting is scheduled, CNN reports
Gulf capitals are pressing Trump to hold back from escalating with Iran, CNN reports, as no talks with Tehran are on the calendar.
Published · Updated
UpdateTuesday, September 22, 2026 at 2:00 PM ET
Trump now says a meeting has already happened and another is scheduled, contradicting the earlier report that no talks were on the calendar.
Trump says a meeting with Iran took place and was "very productive," and that another meeting is scheduled soon.
UpdateTuesday, September 22, 2026 at 11:20 AM ET
Update: mediators are now actively pushing for a US-Iran meeting at the UN, where the published piece said no meeting was scheduled.
Arab mediators are pushing for a meeting between US and Iranian officials at the United Nations this week, aiming to de-escalate the crisis.
UpdateTuesday, September 22, 2026 at 10:25 AM ET
The published piece said no meeting was scheduled; mediators are now working to arrange a high-level one.
Mediators are working to set up a high-level meeting between the US and Iran, a shift from the earlier standoff over talks.
There is currently no meeting scheduled between US and Iranian officials, CNN reports.
Any engagement could still take a different shape. A meeting could involve Trump's top advisers rather than Trump himself. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said sanctions are crippling Iran's economy, and that the US will honour its commitments to Saudi Arabia while keeping the door open to talks with Tehran.
Trump has said he is open to talks with Iranian officials "under right conditions." He is expected to address Iran and cartels in a speech at the United Nations, a case the White House says he will press directly, and that speech is expected to emphasise confrontation on Iran. Gulf states plan to urge Trump to hold back from escalating with Iran, and Gulf capitals plan to press him directly to do the same. Separately, Iranian sources cited by the Fars news agency have called reports of a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz invalid.
With no meeting on the calendar, diplomacy sits in a holding pattern while both sides stake out positions. Trump's stated openness to talks and Rubio's door-to-door diplomacy point to room for negotiation, but without concrete engagement the risk calculus stays elevated, particularly given Iran's escalatory threats around the Strait of Hormuz and warnings from the Revolutionary Guard. That argues for neutral positioning until talks materialise.