JD Vance sent a letter to an extremist member of the Tehran regime to relaunch negotiations with Iran
The midterm elections are approaching. And one question continues to hover: will the war between the United States and Iran resume after the vote? Net of the threats made by Donald Trumpit would appear that his administration is actually trying the diplomatic card again.
According to reports from Wall Street Journal, JD Vance has in fact sent a letter to the secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei. A letter which, forwarded on the recommendation of the US president himself, would not contain peace proposals but a possible reference framework within which new negotiations could possibly be inserted.
In particular, the idea would be to base the negotiations on the pragmatic principle of their respective national interests: the United States wants to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, while Iran needs the lifting of sanctions, as well as the unfreezing of its assets blocked abroad.
Because now Trump seeks diplomacy with Iran
The US initiative is significant. Rezaei he is in fact a member of the Iranian faction that has so far pushed for the hard line towards Washington. It is no coincidence that it boasts historic links with the Pasdaran: a body that has notoriously always opposed the Iranian president’s strategy, Masoud Pezeshkianwho, worried about the disastrous economic situation facing the Islamic Republic, is instead a supporter of relaunching negotiations with the White House.
The fact that Vance he then wrote to Rezaei demonstrates how Washington aims to make inroads into the extremist faction, having understood that all the diplomatic results achieved with the team of Pezeshkian they were derailed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards themselves.
Within the American administration, Vance he is notoriously the most skeptical figure towards the Iranian conflict. It is no coincidence that in recent months he has always tried to work for diplomacy: it was he who negotiated the Islamabad memorandum of understanding, signed in June between Washington and Tehran.
In contrast, the head of the Pentagon, Pete Hegsethis closer to the fighting positions of Netanyahu and therefore hopes for a hard line towards the Islamic Republic. Trumpat the moment, remains more inclined towards diplomacy. It failed to end the conflict in time to bring down the cost of energy before Midterms of November 3. However, he still hopes to lead the resolution of the crisis, to reduce geopolitical turbulence during his last two years in office.
Tehran’s point of view
On the other hand, the Pasdaran are also experiencing some difficulties. Their strategy so far has been to stoke tension in the straits to keep the price of crude oil high and thus damage the US Republican Party ahead of next Tuesday’s elections.
Indeed, the cost of fuel in the US has remained high just a few days after the vote. And, if the Grand Old Party were to lose control of the entire Congress, the Pasdaran could claim victory. At the same time, however, they must be careful. Their line has exacerbated the economic crisis facing the Islamic Republic.
Secondly, the fact that they kept tensions high in the straits irritated countries that were certainly not hostile to Iran, such as Pakistan and Turkey.
In short, the strategy of the Revolutionary Guards is starting to show its rope. And it is in this context that Vance is trying to insert his diplomatic initiative: an initiative which, if successful, could strengthen him in view of the 2028 Republican presidential primaries.
