Vice President JD Vance has sent a letter to Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei seeking to restart peace negotiations, according to multiple reports, but President Trump insists it is a focused outreach intended only to help get medical supplies into Iran.
Mr. Trump has said repeatedly in recent weeks that he is still mulling whether to resume major military operations against Iran or make a peace deal after next week’s midterm elections, according to various outlets.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that Vance was engaging directly with Mohsen Rezaei, one of Iran’s most powerful hard-liners, in an effort to revive negotiations, citing U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter.
Vance sent the letter to Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ longest-serving former commander, at President Trump’s direction, according to The Journal. The initiative seeks to establish whether Washington and Tehran can find common ground to avert a renewed conflict, the paper reported.
According to The New York Times, the letter, sent last week via Qatari mediators and delivered to Rezaei on Sunday, proposed an early meeting between American and Iranian officials, with Vance offering to lead the U.S. negotiating team.
The Times said Rezaei was expected to issue a formal response by Thursday. The letter did not specify a date or location for negotiations, but U.S. and Iranian officials were quoted by the newspaper as saying direct talks could begin as soon as next week in Qatar or Turkey.
According to Axios, Vance’s letter explicitly stated that any negotiations aimed at preventing new U.S. military strikes would require discussions on Iran’s nuclear program.
Asked Wednesday about Vance’s contact with Iranian officials, Mr. Trump told reporters he had not sought to renew peace talks, but “what that is, they [Iran] need help with medical supplies and various things. He [Vance] asked me what I thought and I said, ‘If you want to do that that’s okay.’ Basically it’s getting supplies in to help people who are not well.”