Iran receives Vance letter as US seeks framework for renewed talks, reports say
US Vice President JD Vance has written to Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei in an effort to restart negotiations, the Wall Street Journal reports, and Iranian media say Tehran has received the letter but not yet responded.
US Vice President JD Vance has sent a letter to Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, in a bid to revive peace negotiations between Washington and Tehran, the Wall Street Journal reported, and Iranian media say the message has been received in Tehran but not yet answered.
The letter, sent through Qatari mediators and approved by President Donald Trump, is aimed at testing whether the two sides can agree a framework for negotiations rather than a detailed peace settlement, according to US officials and people familiar with the matter. Rezaei, a former commander of the Revolutionary Guard, said last week that Iran would not negotiate with Washington until specific core demands were met. A spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry said he had no information about the outreach, while Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran continued to give diplomacy a chance to succeed.
The New York Times reported that Vance has also proposed direct negotiations and offered to lead the American delegation personally, with talks potentially beginning in Qatar or Türkiye. Trump, however, publicly played down the initiative, characterising the contact as an effort to facilitate medical supplies rather than a directive to restart peace talks, and denied directing Vance to speak to Iran to reopen negotiations.
The outreach revives a channel that has failed before. A memorandum of understanding struck in June collapsed two weeks after it was signed amid conflicting interpretations of how to unlock shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran has put forward its own seven-day implementation plan through mediators, which remains unresolved.
The diplomatic move comes against the backdrop of reported American preparations for possible renewed strikes on Iran after next week's midterm elections, which US officials have briefed regional allies about. Whether Tehran formally responds to the letter is expected to shape the next phase of the crisis.
