US Vice President JD Vance sent a letter to Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, to test whether Washington and Tehran could agree on a framework for renewed negotiations, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday evening. The outreach comes days before the November 3 midterm elections, with President Donald Trump threatening to resume military strikes on Iran if no agreement is reached. The report, citing US officials and people familiar with the matter, says the contacts so far have centred on establishing terms for negotiations — not on a detailed peace proposal. No concrete agreement has emerged from the outreach, according to the reporting.
What the report says
According to the Journal, Vance’s letter was aimed at determining whether the two sides could bridge their differences enough to persuade Trump to hold off on ordering a renewed military offensive in the coming weeks. Rezaei, a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, is one of Iran’s most influential hardliners and has been hostile to negotiations with Washington. Rezaei said last week that Iran would not negotiate with the United States until its core demands were met, the reporting notes. The precise timing of Vance’s letter and its full contents have not been made public.
A public contradiction over Trump’s role
How far Trump himself authorised the outreach is publicly disputed — and this article reports both accounts rather than settling the question. Sources cited by the Journal said the outreach was made at Trump’s direction and that the president was aware of the initiative. Trump, however, publicly denied instructing Vance to begin peace talks, telling reporters at Joint Base Andrews that the vice president’s contact concerned medical supplies. “Iran needs help with medical supplies. Basically, it’s getting supplies in to help people that are not well,” Trump said. Trump separately told reporters that Vance had asked his view and that he had said “if you want to do that that’s OK,” according to the New York Post’s account of his remarks.
Who is Mohsen Rezaei?
Rezaei heads Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and previously served as the longest-serving commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. His influence in Tehran is described as rising: he met on Sunday with a delegation from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, according to the New York Post. That profile matters because Rezaei has previously threatened to expand Iranian attacks on targets in neighbouring Arab countries, including data centres and internet cables, the Journal reported. He is a different interlocutor from Iran’s previous lead negotiators — parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who met Vance and special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for 21 hours during April talks in Islamabad.
Why now
The outreach sits inside a tight timetable. Trump has threatened to resume bombing Iran after the November 3 congressional elections, and Washington is pressing for nuclear concessions while Tehran wants economic relief immediately. The sequencing of any concessions — who moves first — remains the central obstacle to reopening diplomacy. Separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on October 28 that Tehran was maintaining close contacts with mediators while keeping its armed forces ready, and mediators have been working on a seven-day process aimed at addressing the two sides’ security concerns. Those parallel efforts are distinct from Vance’s letter, and neither has yet produced a published agreement.
What is known — and what is not
Confirmed by multiple reports of the Journal’s story: a letter was sent, Rezaei was the recipient, and the aim was to explore a negotiating framework. Not confirmed: the letter’s exact wording, when precisely it was sent, whether Rezaei has replied in substance, or whether Trump will in fact hold off on military action if talks progress. The Journal’s account itself relies on unnamed US officials and people familiar with the matter, and Reuters said it could not immediately verify the report.
What happens next
The next test is whether the framework discussions produce anything concrete — a reply from Tehran, a meeting, or a pause in the strike threats — before or after the midterms. If no framework emerges, the reported US threat of renewed strikes after November 3 remains the stated alternative.
FAQ
Did Vance open a direct channel to Iran? According to the Wall Street Journal, yes — a letter to security chief Mohsen Rezaei, aimed at exploring a framework for negotiations. Did Trump order the outreach? That is disputed. Journal sources say it was at Trump’s direction; Trump publicly said the contact concerned medical supplies and that he told Vance proceeding was “OK.” Has a peace deal been reached? No. The reporting is explicit that discussions have not produced a detailed peace proposal. Why does the timing matter? Trump has threatened renewed strikes after the November 3 midterms, so any diplomatic opening is being measured against that deadline.
Sources
- The Wall Street Journal report (Oct 28, 2026), via The Times of Israel
- Daily Sabah
- New York Post
- The Media Line
- Times Now
Related
- Vance Arrives in Switzerland for New Round of US-Iran Talks
- US Warns Gulf Allies to Prepare for Possible Short, Intense Iran Campaign After Midterms, WSJ Reports
