Reports say Iran received letter from US VP, has not replied yet

Iranian media reported on Thursday that Tehran had received a letter from US vice-president JD Vance but had not yet responded, amid efforts to revive peace talks between the countries.

Tasnim news agency reported that “Iran has received the letter but has not yet responded”, while Fars news agency carried a similar account, citing “a source familiar with the matter”.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Vance had sent the letter to Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei at the direction of US president Donald Trump, in a bid to revive negotiations and avert new US strikes.

The letter and subsequent contact between US and Iranian officials focused on a possible framework for negotiations rather than specific terms for a peace deal, the newspaper reported.

The war began on Feb 28 with US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior military commanders.

Iran retaliated with attacks on Israel and US assets in the region and imposed restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that normally carries about one-fifth of global oil consumption.

The US has also imposed a blockade on Iranian ports.

The reported correspondence comes as diplomatic efforts to end the war have yet to produce a lasting agreement.

On Wednesday, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran was discussing a plan with mediators, mainly Qatar and Pakistan, to end the war and reopen the waterway.

Tehran insists that Washington meet seven conditions it has set for reopening the strait.

The conditions include a ceasefire across the Middle East, the unfreezing of Iranian assets abroad, the lifting of sanctions on its oil sector and an end to the US naval blockade.

Tasnim reported that “any position that undermines this firm framework established by Iran is unacceptable”.