Vance has secretly spent the last two weeks 'personally' trying to put together a new ceasefire in Iran: The US vice president has reportedly engaged in indirect talks with Iran through regional mediators on a freeze on hostilities and a resumption of nuclear negotiations, sources told Axios. The "almost daily" discussions included the Prime Minister of Qatar, the de facto leader of Pakistan, Field Marshal Asim Munir and other mediators. Trump's chief negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, were also involved. The Axios report follows Vance's posthumous op-ed in the X midterms, in which he blamed the Iran war and the U.S. relationship with Israel for the Republican loss. Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf responded, encouraging Vance to "skip the TED talk" and asking him why he hadn't raised these points with Trump before. Ali Bagheri Kani, the deputy head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, reiterated on Friday that Iran will not return to the negotiating table unless the US stops its aggression, lifts its blockade and sanctions, reduces its presence in the Middle East and pays compensation for war damages. Iranian military and Revolutionary Guards officials warn that any new US attack could trigger unprecedented retaliation that extends beyond the Middle East. substack | talk.

Vance has secretly spent the last two weeks 'personally' trying to put together a new ceasefire in Iran: The US vice president has reportedly engaged in indirect talks with Iran through regional mediators on a freeze on hostilities and a resumption of nuclear negotiations, sources told Axios. The "almost daily" discussions included the Prime Minister of Qatar, the de facto leader of Pakistan, Field Marshal Asim Munir and other mediators. Trump's chief negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, were also involved. The Axios report follows Vance's posthumous op-ed in the X midterms, in which he blamed the Iran war and the U.S. relationship with Israel for the Republican loss. Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf responded, encouraging Vance to "skip the TED talk" and asking him why he hadn't raised these points with Trump before. Ali Bagheri Kani, the deputy head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, reiterated on Friday that Iran will not return to the negotiating table unless the US stops its aggression, lifts its blockade and sanctions, reduces its presence in the Middle East and pays compensation for war damages. Iranian military and Revolutionary Guards officials warn that any new US attack could trigger unprecedented retaliation that extends beyond the Middle East. substack | talk.