U.S. Vice President JD Vance has contacted Iran’s security chief in a bid to revive peace talks that could head off a renewed American assault on the Islamic Republic, the Wall Street Journal reported on Oct. 28.
Vance sent a letter to Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, the Journal reported, in a move that one of the newspaper’s sources said was directed by President Donald Trump.
The letter, as well as subsequent talks between U.S. and Iranian officials, focused on a possible framework for negotiations rather than specifics of a peace proposal, the Journal said.
The Journal also reported on Oct. 28 that Washington had told several Gulf Arab countries to prepare for a possible “short, intense military campaign” against Iran after the U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 3.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Tehran was discussing with mediators ways to implement a seven-day plan to end the Middle East war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“While our Brave Armed Forces are fully prepared to defend the Homeland, Iran continues to give diplomacy a chance to succeed,” he said in a post on X.
“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.”
In September, Iran proposed a seven-day plan that it conveyed to the United States through Qatar.
Araghchi said at the time that under the plan, Hormuz would reopen within seven days if “necessary conditions,” including a ceasefire across the Middle East, were met.
Iran has also demanded the unfreezing of its assets abroad, the lifting of sanctions on its oil sector, and an end to the U.S. naval blockade.
U.S. news website Axios reported that regional mediators led by Qatar were pushing for “a diplomatic deal” to restart U.S.-Iran talks and prevent the resumption of war.
