Trump Says Iran in Contact With US Today, Expects Settlement
Iran's president is already in New York, and Arab mediators are pushing for a direct US-Iran meeting at the UN, though none is yet scheduled.
Published · Updated
UpdateTuesday, September 22, 2026 at 3:45 PM ET
Trump said Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held a productive meeting today with Iran mediators, adding there is momentum toward a deal. He said "we will see what happens with that" and urged Iran to act quickly, warning "there will be a time when it's too late."
UpdateTuesday, September 22, 2026 at 3:40 PM ET
Trump said there is significant momentum for Iran to make a deal and that he expects Iran to take positive action.
President Trump said Tuesday that Iran has been in communication with the US even today and that he expects a settlement to be reached, describing the relationship with Iran as developing.
The claim comes days after Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it struck vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, and after Iran's parliamentary committee proposed a 20% fine for transit breaches through the strait, according to state news agency Fars. Iranian officials have said ships will be detained until that fee is paid.
Tehran has also toughened its position since an earlier US deal collapsed, according to IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebi. Arab mediators are working to arrange a direct meeting between US and Iranian officials at the UN, where Iran's president is already present, but no such meeting has yet been scheduled.
Trump has made similar predictions before, saying the US and Iran will reach a deal "one way or the other" and that oil is flowing at peak levels while forecasting an agreement after the election. He has also urged Iran to make a deal, while Iran has conditioned any settlement on the lifting of the US military blockade. Tuesday's statement marks a shift from the recent pattern of hardened positions and stalled mediation. If direct contact between Washington and Tehran is genuinely underway, rather than only through intermediaries, it would raise the odds of a negotiated settlement and could ease the geopolitical risk premium built into oil and regional equities. Traders are left weighing whether this is a real softening or another round of hopeful rhetoric that does not lead to a deal.