US Vice President JD Vance has proposed direct negotiations with Iran in a bid to prevent President Donald Trump from ordering short, intense strikes against the country in the coming weeks, according to media reports.
Vance sent a letter to Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, seeking to identify common ground for an agreement that could avert further military escalation.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the communication, citing US officials and people familiar with the matter. The New York Times subsequently reported the letter, citing a senior US official and an Iranian official briefed on the exchange.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the letter and subsequent contacts between US and Iranian officials did not address the specific terms of a peace agreement. Instead, the discussions focused on establishing a possible framework for negotiations.
The New York Times reported that the letter was sent through Qatari mediators last week and delivered on Sunday. In it, Vance called for direct talks and offered to lead the US delegation. He also proposed placing Iran’s nuclear programme on the agenda from the outset.
An Iranian official told the New York Times that Tehran’s leaders had received the proposal positively. Rezaei was expected to issue a formal response later on Thursday.
Two officials said negotiations could begin as early as next week in Qatar or Turkey.
Separately, Reuters reported that Qatari mediators had presented Iran with a new draft agreement aimed at ending the conflict. However, a senior Iranian official rejected the plan, describing it as an “unacceptable idea, not a proposal.”
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