Vice President JD Vance has written to Mohsen Rezaei, Iran’s national security chief, seeking to reopen negotiations that have stalled as both sides face the prospect of further military conflict. The letter said any talks intended to avert US military strikes would have to address Iran’s nuclear issue.
Vance proposed writing directly to Rezaei, and President Trump authorised the approach. Trump was enthusiastic about the letter, according to the account of the outreach, which is the most senior-level US contact with Iran in several months.
The choice of recipient signals the narrow channel Washington is trying to test. Rezaei is secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He has a direct line to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and has been hostile to negotiations with the US.
Trump said Vance had sought his view before proceeding. “He asked me what I thought and I said if you want to do that that's OK.”
The message follows talks in Islamabad in April, when Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and foreign minister Abbas Araghchi met Vance and special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for 21 hours.
Vance’s letter focused on whether the US and Iran could restart negotiations. It reportedly set out a new framework, while making clear that nuclear discussions were required for an agreement to prevent US strikes.
The central disagreement remains the order of any concessions. Iran wants the US to lift its naval blockade, release frozen funds and permit oil sales before talks resume. Washington wants Iran to return to nuclear negotiations before it receives sanctions relief.
Vance is seeking to establish whether Washington and Tehran can narrow that gap enough for Trump to defer an order for a brief but intensive military offensive in the coming weeks. The outreach took place days before the midterm elections, while the administration maintained military options and pursued diplomacy through regional intermediaries.
Trump has said he is considering the resumption of major combat operations in Iran after the midterm elections. He has threatened to destroy Iran if there is no agreement before the midterms, and the diplomatic effort comes amid renewed threats of US military action following the 3 November midterm elections.
At a Friday rally in Fort Myers, Florida, Trump said: “We may do another little Epic Fury. Or they'll agree. If they're smart, they'll just say, let's get down to business.”
Rezaei met on Sunday with a delegation from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. This month, he also threatened to widen Iranian attacks against targets in neighbouring Arab countries, including data centres and internet cables.
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