Vice President JD Vance reached out to Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, in a letter proposing to reopen diplomatic discussions between the two countries. The initiative represents an effort by the administration to establish a working framework for direct talks.
President Donald Trump confirmed that Vance consulted him before initiating the outreach. "He asked me what I thought and I said if you want to do that that’s OK," Trump told reporters on October 28.
The vice president's written communication reportedly concentrated on outlining conditions under which broader discussions could resume, omitting detailed terms for a ceasefire. The move follows previous high-level diplomacy in April, when Vance, Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner held 21 hours of talks in Islamabad with Iranian negotiators Abbas Araghchi and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
The diplomatic push comes as American diplomats reportedly warned Persian Gulf partner governments to prepare for a possible brief military offensive against Iran following the November 3 midterm balloting. Active military confrontation involving the United States, Israel, and Iran began eight months ago in late February 2026. Rezaei previously stated that Iran refuses to negotiate until Washington meets its baseline requirements.
