• US president says Iranian leaders want a deal, claims he has heard directly from Tehran
• CDF Munir, Iran FM Araghchi discuss regional developments
• Washington allows Iranian leaders to attend UN General Assembly

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said he hoped an end to the war against Iran was near, as the conflict, now in its seventh month, escalated with Saudi aircraft pounding Yemen and Houthi fighters launching drones and missiles at Saudi cities.

The US president is due to meet Gulf leaders on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York next Tuesday to discuss the next steps in the conflict, according to a report by Axios.

Hours after news broke of the Houthi-Saudi exchanges, Trump told reporters: “Well, hopefully we are towards the end of the war.”

On Iran, he repeated a familiar refrain: “They want to make a deal. We’ll see how that works out.” He said he had been in direct contact with Tehran, but gave no further details.

There is little sign of an imminent resolution. Trump has repeatedly shifted his stated goals and timelines since the war began on Feb, 28 when US and Israeli forces struck Iran and Tehran retaliated against Israel and Gulf states hosting American bases.

The strikes on Iran, and Israeli attacks on Lebanon, have killed thousands and displaced millions.

Trump has said curbing Iran’s nuclear capability is among his objectives, though Iran maintains it does not possess nuclear weapons and that its uranium enrichment programme is for civilian purposes.

Axios reported that the New York meeting would include representatives from all six Gulf Cooperation Council states: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman.

The report relied on unnamed sources; the White House and State Department did not respond to requests for comment.

Regional diplomacy continues

Separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir discussed the latest regional developments in a phone call during the foreign minister’s visit to Beijing on Wednesday, Iranian media reported, as US-Iran negotiations remain stalled with no agreement in sight.

Meanwhile, China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, told the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, in a call on Thursday that the two countries “should prepare well for the next stage of high-level interactions in the spirit of equality, respect and reciprocity”, according to a ministry statement, which described head-of-state diplomacy as the “anchor” of the relationship.

The statement stopped short of confirming a meeting between Xi Jinping and Trump, which Trump has said would take place on Sept 24 during Xi’s visit to Washington.

Wang and Rubio also discussed the Middle East, a day after Wang hosted Araghchi in Beijing, where he urged Iran and the US to show restraint, return to the interim peace deal signed in June, and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration will allow top Iranian officials to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week, the State Department said on Thursday, even as Washington and Tehran remain at war and continue intermittent talks aimed at ending the conflict.

A State Department spokesperson said a “core delegation from the Iranian regime” would be allowed to attend the meeting in line with the United States’ obligations as the world body’s host country.

That means officials including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will be granted visas, according to a source familiar with the decision.

The delegation will be under travel restrictions and will face prohibitions on the purchase of luxury and other goods per our policy. The delegation is smaller than last year,” the State Department spokesperson added.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2026