According to a report by the US media website Axios on November 6, two people familiar with the matter said that over the past two weeks, Vice President Wilson personally involved in indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran, with the goal of reaching a new ceasefire and relaunching nuclear talks.
The report suggests that Vance’s deep involvement indicates his willingness to take responsibility for helping the United States emerge from this conflict. He believes that it is this conflict that led to the Republican Party’s crushing defeat in this week’s elections. This also brings the latest round of indirect negotiations to the highest levels of government.
American officials and regional sources say that U.S. President Trump is willing to allow diplomatic efforts to continue, and hopes to see if it is possible to reach any agreement.
"We were talking with them," Trump said when asked what message he intended to convey to Iran on Friday.
But if he changes his mind and orders another attack, the U.S. military is ready to launch an attack within a relatively short period of time.
According to people who are directly involved in the matter, Vance has been in constant contact with Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed, Pakistani Army Marshal Asim Munir, and other mediators every day, discussing matters related to negotiations with Iran.
White House Special Envoy Steve Wittke and Trump's advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner were also involved.
According to sources, Vance and the mediators from Qatar and Pakistan have been discussing the possibility of a technical meeting between the US and Iran in the coming days, but nothing has been finalized yet.
Source says that there is progress in mediation talks between the US and Iraq, but very slowly.
On Friday, Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed said, "Over the past few weeks, we have been working with colleagues in the U.S. government who truly want to find ways to control the situation and calm it down. Thanks to them, and thanks to the rational voices in Doha, we have prevented the situation from getting out of control." He added that negotiations with the Trump administration continue after the midterm elections, but not as frequently as before the elections, "because they have other things to do."
However, he said that the United States’ desire for diplomatic solutions “still exists,” and emphasized that an agreement is possible.
Before the war broke out at the end of February, Vance was one of Trump’s core supporters who remained skeptical about the war. He advocated for resolving issues through diplomatic means. After the war began, he led the U.S. negotiation team in a series of discussions, including the Iran summit held in Islamabad in April, as well as negotiations that led to the Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and Iran in June.
But not long after, the memorandum of understanding broke down, and Iran once again announced a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
According to reports, two weeks ago, Vance wrote a letter to Mohsen Rezai, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, proposing the resumption of direct negotiations. Rezai is one of the closest advisors to Iran’s supreme leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
On November 4th, Vance wrote that the Iran war was a major reason for the Republican Party's defeat in the mid-term elections.
