US Vice-President JD Vance has sent a personal letter to Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, proposing to restart diplomacy. The letter was sent on Sunday, days before Tuesday’s US midterm elections. It asks Tehran to make commitments on its nuclear programme in return for US sanctions relief and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz within seven days.
What Washington is asking for
The US wants front-loaded, specific commitments on removing Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile. Iran has proposed blending that material down instead. Tehran is also resistant to UN nuclear inspectors.
Iran is reluctant to make upfront, irreversible nuclear commitments if the US steps offered in return could later be reversed. Qatar has been the main mediator behind the letter.
A deal that already failed
Iran and the US have been in a state of neither war nor peace. Vance had previously negotiated a 14-point memorandum of understanding, which later fell apart.
Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Ghalibaf, has said Tehran’s conditions have been stated repeatedly to the mediators. He said progress could only come once Iran’s seven conditions were agreed, and that a carrot-and-stick approach had no effect on Iran.
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Military options and Gulf concerns
Reports suggest a renewed US attack would require targets previously considered off-limits. The views of Gulf states would be key to any such decision. Iran has reportedly made plans to strike desalination plants, internet cables and electricity grids across the Gulf.
Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat who has been briefed on US military targets in Iran, has warned against escalation.
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