U.S., Iran hold first talks since June as Trump threatens annihilation

U.S. and Iranian delegations met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, rekindling diplomacy amid Trump’s threat to “annihilate” the regime.

Around 50% of the damaged production capacity at Iran's South Pars gas field has been restored, according to a senior oil ministry official cited by Iran's semi-official Fars news agency.Ahmad Zeraatkar, Deputy Oil Minister for Planning, told Fars that efforts to restore production capacity began following damage to South Pars facilities early in the war, with some units back online ahead of schedule.In March, Israel struck South Pars, part of the world's largest natural gas field, spiking global energy prices and drawing a rebuke from President Trump."By the end of September, around 50% of the damaged capacity had returned to service, and production in this section had resumed," Zeraatkar said.Zeraatkar said the planned restoration targets had been achieved and that all scheduled measures would be completed before the start of winter.He also called on consumers to help the effort by reducing energy consumption.

Several countries began suspending flights operated by Iranian airlines to their airports on Wednesday as new U.S. sanctions targeting the country's aviation sector took effect.The Trump administration announced earlier this month that Iran's entire air transport sector would be subject to sanctions. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that Iranian airlines would face difficulties operating globally from Sept. 23.Georgia has banned flights operated by Iranian carriers from the country, while Iran's Mahan Air suspended flights to Turkey