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The United States has agreed to issue visas to senior Iranian officials to attend high-level United Nations General Assembly meetings, according to the Associated Press.
A spokesperson for the US Department of State confirmed that the core delegation of the Iranian government will be able to attend the General Assembly meetings, a move that comes ahead of the high-level meetings in New York.
In a related development, Axios reported, citing officials, that US President Donald Trump has ordered the maintenance of current US troop levels in the Middle East until the end of the year, anticipating a possible resumption of fighting.
This step comes as Trump considers the United States to be approaching a "decisive turning point" in the confrontation with Iran, indicating that a major decision on resuming large-scale attacks to end the conflict is imminent.
Trump explained, in an interview with Axios, that he is considering all possibilities, including "entering and eliminating the Iranian regime," adding that he wants to use the UN meeting to directly hear from regional allies on the next steps in the war.
He pointed to his desire to know the position of regional allies, noting that the United States has been keen to protect them, while revealing that the Iranians are in direct contact with Washington and still wish to reach an agreement.
Regarding economic pressure on Tehran, Trump expressed satisfaction with the success of the naval blockade in preventing Iran from exporting oil, claiming that no ship has reached Iran since the blockade began.
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