00:01U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance has sent a letter to Iran's top national security official,
00:08Mohsen Rezaei, in an effort to revive peace negotiations.
00:12This comes as President Donald Trump considers launching a new round of military strikes against
00:18Iran after next week's U.S. midterm elections, the Wall Street Journal reported.
00:23The letter sent at Trump's direction is aimed at determining whether the U.S. and Iran can
00:29find enough common ground for Trump to hold off on strikes described by officials as short but
00:35intense on Tehran. Media outlet Axios separately reported that Vance emphasized in his letter
00:42that any negotiations aimed at preventing renewed U.S. military strikes would have to address
00:47Iran's nuclear program. But on Wednesday, when asked about the matter, Trump denied giving such
00:53instruction, saying the contact was primarily intended to facilitate the delivery of medical
00:59supplies to Iran. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arachi said that Tehran remained
01:06willing to give diplomacy a chance while its armed forces stood ready to defend the country.
01:12On Wednesday, Reuters reported that Qatar presented Iran with a draft deal to end the war. But a senior
01:19Iranian official said it was unacceptable ideas, not a formal proposal.
