JD Vance contacts Iran hard-liner Mohsen Rezaei to revive peace talks as Trump threatens to resume war: Report

US Vice President JD Vance is reaching out to one of Iran's most influential hard-liners in an effort to revive peace negotiations, even as President Donald Trump threatens to resume the war after next week's midterm elections, according to US officials and people familiar with the matter. Vance sent a letter to Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who held the position for the longest period, according to people familiar with the outreach.

One person said the letter was sent at Trump's direction and that the president was aware of the communication. Vance is exploring whether Washington and Tehran can find sufficient common ground to persuade Trump against authorising a final, short and intense attack on Iran in the coming weeks. Some US officials believe engaging Iranian hard-liners could produce a better diplomatic outcome. These figures have accumulated greater power in Tehran since the United States and Israel killed Iranian regime leaders at the beginning of the war.

Last week, Trump said his administration was not negotiating with Iran and hinted at possible further military action.

“We’re not negotiating with them, we are going to have something one way or another, it’ll happen soon,” he said. Vance's letter and subsequent discussions between US and Iranian officials have not included specific terms for a peace agreement. Instead, the exchanges have focused on establishing a possible framework for negotiations, a person familiar with the matter said.

Rezaei said last week that Iran would not negotiate with Washington until its core demands were met. Although Vance has publicly supported the war against Iran, he has privately expressed reservations about allowing the conflict to continue for an extended period. Before Trump launched “Operation Epic Fury” in February, Vance argued for more extensive diplomatic efforts. Trump subsequently appointed Vance as the lead negotiator. The vice president travelled abroad twice to meet Iranian counterparts in an effort to secure a final agreement to end the conflict.

A ‘memorandum of understanding’ reached in June collapsed two weeks after being signed, following disagreements over how shipping through the Strait of Hormuz would be restored. Vance's latest outreach comes as Republicans prepare for possible losses in the House and Senate during the midterm elections, potentially surrendering control of one or both chambers of Congress. Voters have cited the Iran conflict and rising fuel costs as sources of frustration with Trump and fellow Republicans. Vance is also the early leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2028.

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A spokesman for Vance declined to discuss the talks. The White House directed a request for comment to the vice president's team, while a spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry said he had no information about Vance's outreach. Rezaei and the Supreme National Security Council could not be reached for comment. On social media, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, “While our Brave Armed Forces are fully prepared to defend the Homeland, Iran continues to give diplomacy a chance to succeed.” Rezaei's emergence as a key interlocutor could sideline other Iranian figures, including Araghchi and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of parliament.

Rezaei, who led the Revolutionary Guard during Iran's war with Iraq in the 1980s, has become an influential but hawkish voice as US threats intensify. Earlier this month, he said Tehran could target the United Arab Emirates, which has largely avoided attacks since late spring, as well as data centres and internet cables across the region.

On Sunday, Rezaei took the unusual step of meeting security chiefs from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey in Tehran as the countries sought to reduce tensions. Previous visits of this kind had largely involved diplomats. Trump has made dismantling Iran's nuclear programme a national security priority during his second term, alternating between efforts to reach a diplomatic settlement and threats to bomb Tehran into submission.

Repeated negotiations through mediators Qatar and Pakistan have failed to resolve the diplomatic deadlock. Washington is demanding nuclear concessions from Iran upfront, while Tehran is seeking immediate economic relief. The United States has maintained an economic blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz. Oil exports continue to flow through the disputed waterway, although not at levels sufficient to ease high energy prices.

With no clear diplomatic path forward, Trump has said at campaign events in recent days that he expects the war with Iran to resume and that the conflict will end only when he decides. “They’ve wanted to make a deal, but they like tapping it along. Maybe they’re waiting for the election or something, but that’s not gonna help them,” Trump told reporters Tuesday night.