Vice President JD Vance told Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei in a letter that any negotiations to avert US military strikes “require discussions on the nuclear issue,” Axios reported, citing a US official. The message to Rezaei, a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, marks the highest-level US outreach to Tehran in several months as President Donald Trump weighs resuming major combat operations after the November 3 midterm elections.
The disclosure follows a Wall Street Journal report earlier Wednesday that Vance wrote to Rezaei at Trump’s direction to explore a framework for restarting peace talks. Asked by reporters at Joint Base Andrews whether he had instructed Vance to open negotiations, Trump denied doing so and said the outreach only concerned humanitarian aid: “No. Iran needs help with medical supplies. Basically, it’s getting supplies in to help people that are not well.”
