US Vice President JD Vance has been personally involved in indirect talks with Iran for the last two weeks to secure a new ceasefire and restart nuclear negotiations, according to a report.
Axios, citing two sources with knowledge of the matter, said on Friday that Vance has been speaking almost daily with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Pakistani Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir and other mediators.
White House envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential adviser Jared Kushner are also involved.
Sources said Vance and the mediators have discussed holding a working-level technical meeting between the two sides in the coming days, but it has not yet taken place.
Two weeks ago, Vance sent a letter to Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, proposing a return to direct negotiations, it said. Iranian officials said the letter created positive momentum.
Urgency to continue dialogue
President Donald Trump, along with many Republicans, blamed the Iran war for the crushing defeat in the midterm elections.
Vance also said that the Iran war was the main reason Republicans were repudiated in this week's midterm elections in the US, but while Trump defended it, Vance questioned its worth.
Trump spoke with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Friday.
Sheikh Tamim stressed the need to continue dialogue and avoid further escalation in the region, according to a statement from his office.
