Trump says he's open to meeting, but Iran's president vows to 'firmly defend' Tehran's position

Even as US President Donald Trump said he was open to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, the Iranian leader struck a defiant tone as he departed for the UN General Assembly, vowing to "firmly defend our position on the international stage." Oil prices tumbled sharply on hopes of a high-level US-Iran contact, but Tehran's repeated emphasis on its distrust of Washington and Tel Aviv has left the prospect of an actual meeting very much in doubt.

Iran's state broadcaster reported Tuesday (local time) that Pezeshkian said as he left for New York to attend the UN General Assembly: "We have prevailed with our heads held high, and that is the source of our dignity and pride."

He made clear he intended to use the assembly to press the case against the United States and Israel, saying the issues Iran would raise included "the harm done to the Iranian people, the crimes committed by the US and Israel, and the accumulated distrust that must be brought to light."

Pezeshkian also laid bare a deep-seated distrust of Washington. "We have gone to the negotiating table many times and signed agreements," he said. "Unfortunately, as the whole world has seen, promises were not kept and the agreements we signed were trampled."

He went on to say that "the enemies are trying by every possible means to bring the Iranian people to their knees," adding that having failed militarily, they were now exploiting media and division and seeking to weaken Iran from within by taking advantage of its vulnerabilities.

Pezeshkian also expressed frustration over restrictions placed on Iranian journalists accompanying the delegation to the UN General Assembly. "They are afraid of having their crimes exposed," he said, adding that he would actively use international media on the ground to get Iran's message out.

The remarks are notable coming immediately after Trump publicly left open the possibility of a leaders-level conversation.

Trump had said earlier that a meeting with Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly was "probably" something he was open to. Should the two leaders actually meet, it would mark the first face-to-face summit-level contact since the war began.

Trump addressed the assembly Tuesday, with Pezeshkian scheduled to speak Wednesday. Oil markets have been reacting sharply to expectations of a possible diplomatic breakthrough between the two countries — Brent crude fell 3.4 percent and West Texas Intermediate dropped 4.5 percent.

Yet even as he boarded his flight to New York, Pezeshkian's insistence on holding the US accountable for past broken agreements and for the war underscored how wide the gap remains between a leaders' meeting and any real progress in negotiations.