Despite US President Donald Trump’s threat to resume military strikes against Iran in the coming weeks, his administration is reportedly seeking to revive peace negotiations with Tehran.
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, US Vice President J.D. Vance has sent a letter to Mohsen Rezaei, one of Iran’s prominent hardliners. Rezaei is the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The letter focused on a possible framework for negotiations rather than the specifics of a peace proposal, the report said, citing a person familiar with the matter. It added that the letter was sent at Trump’s direction.
Trump, however, denied instructing Vance to initiate peace negotiations with Iran, saying the vice president’s communication concerned medical supplies.
“Iran needs help with medical supplies. Basically, it’s getting supplies in to help people that are not well,” Trump said while answering to journalists' questions at Joint Base Andrews.
Meanwhile, an Associated Press report said US officials had urged several Middle Eastern countries and regional allies to prepare for the possibility of renewed military action against Iran following next week’s midterm elections.
Two senior diplomats, speaking to the news agency on condition of anonymity, said Trump had repeatedly indicated that he was considering ordering fresh military strikes after the crucial November 3 elections in the United States.
Iran, meanwhile, has said it continues to give diplomacy a chance. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X that Tehran was discussing with mediators ways to implement a seven-day plan to end the war in the Middle East and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“We remain in close and ongoing contact with intermediaries to review ideas that can ensure implementation of our 7-Day Plan in even less than a week,” Araghchi said.
The US has not carried out any major strikes against Iran since September, although the security situation across the region remains volatile. Meanwhile, Iran-backed Houthi rebels have targeted Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure and airports to press their demands in Yemen and exert pressure amid the wider regional conflict.
