U.S. Vice President Vance Contacts Iranian Hardliner Amid Rising Threat of Conflict
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Vice President JD Vance sent a letter to senior Iranian official Mohsen Rezaei at President Trump's direction, seeking a framework for negotiations as the United States weighs further military action against Iran.
Vice President JD Vance has reportedly written to Mohsen Rezaei, a senior member of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, at the direction of President Donald Trump. The outreach, reported by The Wall Street Journal, aims to explore whether Washington and Tehran can find enough common ground to dissuade the president from ordering a short, intense attack on Iran in the coming weeks.
The correspondence has focused on establishing a possible framework for negotiations rather than detailing a specific peace proposal, according to a source familiar with the matter. Both President Trump and Rezaei have expressed limited interest in talks; Trump recently said the administration was not negotiating with Iran and hinted at imminent strikes. Rezaei indicated that Iran would not engage in negotiations unless its key demands were first satisfied.
"We’re not negotiating with them, we are going to have something one way or another, it’ll happen soon," President Trump said.
"While our Armed Forces are fully prepared to defend the Homeland, Iran continues to give diplomacy a chance to succeed," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.
The initiative comes as Republicans face potential losses in the upcoming midterm elections, with the conflict and rising fuel prices adding to voter concerns. A spokesperson for Vance declined comment, and the White House referred inquiries to the vice president’s team. Iran's foreign ministry said it had no information about the outreach, and attempts to contact Rezaei and the Supreme National Security Council were unsuccessful.
Earlier, Vance had advocated for stronger diplomatic efforts before the launch of "Operation Epic Fury" in February and was later appointed as the lead negotiator, traveling abroad twice to meet Iranian officials. Rezaei, who led the Revolutionary Guard during the 1980s war with Iraq, has recently warned of possible attacks on regional infrastructure.
Repeated U.S.-Iran talks have yet to yield a lasting agreement; a memorandum of understanding signed in June collapsed within weeks over disagreements on reopening shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump continues to state that the war with Iran will resume unless he decides otherwise.