The Wall Street Journal reported, citing U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter, that U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance is considering direct talks with Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei, who is regarded as Iran's highest-ranking security official and a key figure in negotiations with Washington.
According to the newspaper, President Donald Trump approved Vance's effort to contact the Iranian official with the aim of restarting negotiations. Vance sent Rezaei a letter in October requesting a meeting, while Qatar would host any potential talks.
Tehran's conditions
The newspaper said the main obstacle to resuming negotiations is the difference in the two sides' priorities. Tehran is demanding that the U.S. naval blockade be lifted, frozen Iranian assets be released and oil sanctions be eased before any talks begin. By contrast, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others in the administration are calling for continued economic pressure instead of another military operation.
Vance helped facilitate the understanding that halted the fighting in June, but that understanding did not include specific commitments regarding Iran's nuclear program or the Strait of Hormuz.
Rezaei threatens retaliation
The report came as Rezaei warned that any new U.S. war against Iran would make “every military base participating in the aggression, from West Asia to Europe, a legitimate target,” while Israeli media reported that the military had been instructed to intensify preparations for a possible attack on Iran.
Photos: Axios, The Boston Globe, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
