Iran's Araghchi to meet mediators in New York Monday without US representatives

Iran's ISNA news agency says the Monday session will exclude US representatives. Talks will center on a revised 7-day Iranian proposal discussed at the UNGA, according to people informed about the discussions.

Iran's Araghchi will meet mediators in New York on Monday, September 28, and US representatives will not attend that session, according to Iran's ISNA news agency. Mediators had planned separate meetings with the US and Iran on Monday or Tuesday, with Araghchi and Qatari mediators remaining in the US. The discussions will focus on a revised 7-day proposal from Iran raised at the UN General Assembly, according to people familiar with the talks.

The mediation follows a breakdown announced by Iran's New York delegation, which ruled out further talks with the US. Iran had earlier denied that talks with the US were occurring, calling such reports market management.

Iranian officials had earlier called technical talks increasingly positive before Trump rejected Iran's nuclear proposal. President Pezeshkian said Tehran backs a return to the Islamabad understanding and that talks with US envoys Kushner and Whittaker centered on Iran's rights under international law. A senior Iranian official reiterated conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Mediation with a structured format and a concrete proposal moderately improves the odds of progress after Trump's rejection and Iran's denials had left talks stalled. The gap between US confidence in its negotiating position and Iran's insistence on preconditions remains wide, and US representatives will not be in the room for Monday's session.