Iran just refused to bow to Trump and it still wants to talk

So let's talk about why this is such a big deal.

This is the first time since the war started, about seven months ago, that a leader of a country actually at war with America has stood at that podium.

And he was standing exactly where Trump stood a day earlier.

Trump had asked the room whether Iran gets a deal, or whether, in his words, quote "do I annihilate the Islamic Republic". He said a deal could come after the midterm elections. Annihilation was the other option, on the table, in public.

Here's the twist though. Hours after that speech, Trump's own envoys sat down with Iranian officials.

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Iranian officials for about three hours on the sidelines of the UN gathering. Qatari diplomats helped set it up. Trump called it "a very good meeting" but wouldn't say much more. He said the Iranian officials weren't top-level, but called it "something". Iran's side downplayed it. Esmail Baghaei, from Iran's Foreign Ministry, said it was "not anything new".

So threats in public, quiet talks in private. Both at once.

Pezeshkian didn't just talk about victims. He also said Iran won't accept limits on its nuclear programme, which Iran says is for civilian use only. And he said Iran is still open to talking, without accepting what he called the language of force.

So that's the message. Negotiate with us properly, or nothing.

Marco Rubio answered him straight after. America's Secretary of State said Iran has no standing to lecture anyone on human rights or the international system when it violates both. He said Iran arms groups inside its neighbours' borders and kills its own people too.

Now here's something worth flagging. Pezeshkian also told the room Iran did not hit civilian populations. That's disputed. The Times of Israel reports 21 Israeli civilians and foreign nationals, plus four Palestinians in the West Bank, have been killed this year by Iranian missiles. PBS NewsHour reports mariners and migrant workers have also died in Iran's strikes.

The war itself is nearly seven months old now. Iran has been blocking and hitting ships in the Strait of Hormuz on and off the whole time. Around a fifth of the world's oil and gas used to move through there before the war, and shipping still hasn't gone back to normal.

So what don't we know? Whether Pezeshkian's defiance is a negotiating tactic, or whether Iran genuinely won't budge. And whether that three-hour meeting with Trump's envoys actually moved anything.

Both sides have now said their piece, in public, on the record. Trump: rebuild, or be annihilated. Pezeshkian: we'll talk, but we won't bow.