Iran downplays indirect talks with U.S., and other Mideast developments
Iran reiterated its conditions for ending more than seven months of war with the United States, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back against French President Emmanuel Macron's remarks about the occupied West Bank during the United Nations General Assembly.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has traveled to New York and is scheduled to address the assembly later on Wednesday in his first speech since the U.S. and Israel launched the war in February.
Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Wednesday. More coverage on the U.N. General Assembly is available here.
A spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday Iran had maintained its negotiating stance in talks with U.S. officials, demanding the United States end its blockade on Iranian ports and release Iran's frozen assets.
Esmail Baghaei said the indirect talks took place via Qatari mediators on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.
“This was not anything new,” Baghaei said of Iran’s conditions.
The unscheduled meeting — the first indirect talks between U.S. and Iranian officials since a June ceasefire unraveled — came as intermittent attacks continue in the Strait of Hormuz off Iran's coastline, where commercial shipping remains below prewar levels.
An Israeli strike on a vehicle in Khan Younis killed two people Wednesday morning, Gaza’s Health Ministry said.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said one of those killed was Mohammad Abu Alwan, whom he identified as the head of Hamas’ finance department. He also said Israel would keep going after militants on its target list.
The two were the latest casualties since the ceasefire nearly a year ago. More than 1,400 Palestinians have been killed since it took effect, according to the ministry, which maintains detailed records that are seen as generally reliable.
Israeli forces have carried out repeated airstrikes since the ceasefire began and frequently open fire on Palestinians near military-held zones.
Netanyahu’s office called Macron’s remarks at the United Nations a “grotesque absurdity,” objecting to his claim about the Palestinian militant group Hamas' activity in the West Bank.
Macron decried the situation in Gaza. He also criticized the escalating Israeli settler violence in the West Bank, saying Israel could not invoke Hamas to justify its actions in the territory. He used terminology in his French-language remarks that could mean Hamas has either never governed or operated in the West Bank.
A French diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity to be able to speak to the media, said Macron meant Hamas had never governed the West Bank.
The U.N. has not released an official translation.
Hamas has long maintained support in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and claimed responsibility for attacks there, though it has never governed in the semiautonomous territory. During the war in Gaza, Israel has intensified military operations in the West Bank, launching an offensive in early 2025 that targeted refugee camps it described as bastions of Palestinian militancy.
The dispute adds to tensions since France recognized a Palestinian state in September 2025.
Earlier this month, France joined Canada and several European countries in announcing steps to restrict trade from Israeli settlements. France has long opposed Israeli settlements as contrary to international law and put out a statement Sunday saying it ″firmly condemns the terrorist attack″ that killed a French-Israeli over the weekend.
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This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.
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