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Politics497 outlets ran this3 min read

US and Iran hold indirect talks at UN General Assembly

Special envoy Steve Witkoff described discussions as constructive and promising, with mediators continuing their work.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published Updated
US, Iran complete fresh talks as mediators shuttle between delegations at UNGA

What this story says

  • US and Iranian delegations held lengthy indirect talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
  • Mediators shuttled between the two sides throughout the day during the discussions.
  • US special envoy Steve Witkoff described the completed round of talks as constructive and promising.
  • Mediators will continue their work, indicating potential for further engagement.

Who covered it

Left 24%(56)Centre 41%(95)Right 35%(81)

Percentages are shares of the 232 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 265 of the 497 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

50/100

Craft

60/100

Hype

20/100

497 sources · methodology

Missing from the left

Only 56 of the 232 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.

A reader who follows the left would not have seen this. We report the absence rather than explain it: outlets choose what to cover for many reasons, and we have no evidence about which one applies here.

United States special envoy Steve Witkoff stated that lengthy indirect talks were held with the Iranian delegation on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Mediators shuttled between the two sides throughout the day during these discussions. Witkoff expressed hope that the completed round of talks would prove constructive and promising. He also stated that the mediators would continue their work.

Disagreement on meeting details

CNBC-TV18 reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi was involved in the discussions. However, EADaily stated that earlier reports indicated Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with the Iranian delegation, with Trump describing that meeting as lasting three hours and going 'very well'.

What the coverage left out

None of the right-rated reports below mention the potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz or the specific details of any prior meeting between Jared Kushner and the Iranian delegation, as reported by EADaily. Furthermore, no reports mention the specific date of the talks as September 22, local time, as stated by CNBC-TV18 and Tribune India.

Tags:#USIranTalks#UNGA#SteveWitkoff#Diplomacy#MiddleEast

Coverage settled. We checked this 9 times and stopped on 28 Sept 2026, 12:31. The figures above are what it finished at.

How other outlets pictured it

Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.

US and Iran hold indirect talks at UN General Assembly
Tribune IndiaRight

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

56 rated outlets

  • All twelve left‑rated digests note that U.S. and Iranian delegations met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The meeting lasted three hours, and President Trump described it as “very good.” The Hindu, Washington Post, Infobae, NBC News and Dnevni list Danas all convey these points.
  • Several outlets foreground Trump’s warning that the United States could “annihilate” Iran if a deal was not reached. The Independent, Indian Express, Al Jazeera, NBC News and La Vanguardia each mention the threat, linking it to the same three‑hour meeting. Their digests stress the contrast between the hopeful description of the talks and the stark warning.
  • The digests do not provide any detail about the substantive issues discussed, any specific proposals, or the Iranian side’s statements beyond a brief reference in the Hamilton Spectator that Iran downplayed the talks. No outlet mentions a concrete outcome, third‑party mediation, or a timeline for implementation. Consequently, the left‑rated coverage leaves the content of the negotiations largely unspecified.

Centre

95 rated outlets

  • All twelve centre‑rated outlets ran a story that the United States and Iran met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The reports said the encounter lasted three hours, was the first such contact since the June cease‑fire collapse, and that President Trump called the meeting very good.
  • The full report from 15min.lt quoted Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi listing three conditions: an immediate end to the U.S. naval blockade, full payment of Iran’s frozen assets, and a cessation of fighting on all fronts. WKMG’s digest repeated the blockade and frozen‑asset demands, while IBTimes noted Trump’s comment that momentum existed for a deal.
  • The digests did not provide details of the substantive issues discussed, omitted any quotations from Iranian officials beyond WKMG, and gave no information on third‑party mediators or concrete outcomes. None of the centre‑rated summaries mentioned cost estimates, broader diplomatic context, or any verification of the claims made by the U.S. side.

Right

81 rated outlets

  • Right-rated reports focused on the statements made by US special envoy Steve Witkoff regarding the indirect talks with Iran. EADaily, CNBC-TV18, Tribune India, Svenska Dagbladet, Interfax.ru, and news-pravda.com all highlighted Witkoff's description of the discussions as 'lengthy', 'constructive', and 'promising'. Several reports, including EADaily and CNBC-TV18, quoted Witkoff stating that mediators would continue their work. CNBC-TV18 also included a statement from US President Donald Trump that the US would not allow Iran to possess nuclear weapons, and noted that Iran had signalled it could reopen the Strait of Hormuz if US pressure eased. Tribune India mentioned Iran confirming Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi's meeting with the envoy.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover US and Iran hold indirect talks at UN General Assembly?
Of the 232 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 24% are rated left, 41% are rated centre, 35% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 497. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is US and Iran hold indirect talks at UN General Assembly left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 232 rated outlets on this story, 24% are rated left, 41% are rated centre, 35% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of US and Iran hold indirect talks at UN General Assembly biased?
US and Iran hold indirect talks at UN General Assembly is one event reported by 497 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting US and Iran hold indirect talks at UN General Assembly?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered US and Iran hold indirect talks at UN General Assembly?
497 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
What was the outcome of the talks between the US and Iran?
US special envoy Steve Witkoff described the completed round of indirect talks as constructive and promising. He also stated that the mediators involved would continue their work, suggesting potential for further engagement between the two nations.
Who facilitated the discussions between the US and Iran?
Mediators facilitated the indirect talks between the US and Iranian delegations. These mediators shuttled between the two sides throughout the day during the discussions held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
What was US President Donald Trump's stance on Iran's nuclear capabilities?
US President Donald Trump stated that the United States would not allow Iran to possess nuclear weapons. He also indicated that Iran understood this position and that the two nations were developing their relationship through ongoing discussions.

Read it at the source

516 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

57
Show 49 more

Centre

95
Show 87 more

Right

85
Show 77 more

Not rated

279
Show 271 more

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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