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Trump Says Vance Letter to Iran Security Chief Was Approved, but Denies He Ordered Peace Talks

President Donald Trump confirmed Vice President JD Vance wrote to Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei, but said the contact was about medical supplies, after The Wall Street Journal reported it was sent at Trump's direction to test a framework for talks.

By admin Oct. 28, 2026 · 9:41 PM ET 3 min read

A stone government building with tall columns and lighted windows at dusk in Washington
A stone government building with tall columns and lighted windows at dusk in Washington

President Donald Trump on Wednesday confirmed that Vice President JD Vance had written to a senior Iranian security official, while giving two different accounts of what the contact was about.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Vance sent a letter to Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. According to the Journal, as reported by the New York Post and ANI, the letter was sent at Trump’s direction and was meant to test whether Washington and Tehran could agree on a framework for talks.

A sealed plain white envelope and a pen on a wooden desk in an office
A sealed plain white envelope and a pen on a wooden desk in an office

Trump, asked by reporters at Joint Base Andrews whether he had directed Vance to start peace talks, said no. He said the 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, according to the reports.

Trump also confirmed that Vance had asked him about the outreach. “He asked me what I thought and I said if you want to do that that’s OK,” Trump told reporters, according to the New York Post.

Two accounts of the same contact

The Journal report said the message mentioned a new framework for negotiations, but the exact timing and the full content of the letter were not immediately clear, the New York Post reported. The talks have not yet produced a detailed peace proposal, according to ANI.

Rezaei has been hostile to talks with the United States, the Journal reported. He said last week that Iran would not negotiate with Washington until its core demands were met, according to ANI. Earlier this month, he warned that Iran could target the United Arab Emirates and regional data centers and internet cables, the Journal reported.

An empty conference room with a long wooden table and chairs beside large windows
An empty conference room with a long wooden table and chairs beside large windows

Rezaei met on Sunday with a delegation from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, according to the New York Post. Before Rezaei emerged as a contact, Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had been the country’s lead negotiators, including in 21 hours of April talks in Islamabad with Vance and special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

What each side wants next

Washington wants nuclear concessions from Tehran before talks move forward, while Tehran wants economic relief right away, according to ANI. A memorandum of understanding reached in June fell apart two weeks after it was signed, after the two sides read it differently on restoring transit through the Strait of Hormuz. Later talks mediated by Qatar and Pakistan did not break the deadlock, ANI reported.

Three cargo ships on open water at sunset with hills along the shoreline
Three cargo ships on open water at sunset with hills along the shoreline

Trump has threatened to resume bombing Iran after the November 3 congressional elections. At a rally Friday in Fort Myers, Florida, he said, “We may do another little Epic Fury,” referring to the U.S. military operation that began in February, according to the New York Post.

Reporting based on coverage by The Wall Street Journal as reported by the New York Post and ANI via LatestLY.

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