Vance Takes Lead in Indirect Iran Talks Through Qatari and Pakistani Mediators

Vance has been speaking almost daily with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir and other mediators, the sources told Axios. White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's adviser and son-in-law, are also involved. The vice president's office declined to comment.

For the Gulf, the talks are the clearest route out of a war that began at the end of February and has disrupted shipping, aviation and energy flows across the region. Iran's Revolutionary Guards have attacked tankers in and around the Strait of Hormuz, and this week a seafarer was killed when a suspected missile struck a Greek-managed tanker bound for Bahrain. Dubai's Emirates Group reported on Thursday that its half-year profit fell by two-thirds as the conflict kept passengers away.

Vance's role raises the talks to the highest level of the administration. Two weeks ago he sent a letter to Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and one of the closest confidants of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, proposing that direct negotiations resume. Iranian officials said the letter created positive momentum towards restarting talks, according to the report. Vance and the Qatari and Pakistani mediators have discussed a working-level technical meeting between the US and Iran in the coming days, but it has not yet taken place.

People involved in the mediation described progress as real but very slow. US officials and regional sources said Trump is, for now, willing to let diplomacy play out to see whether a deal is possible, but that the US military is ready to launch renewed strikes on a relatively short timetable if he changes course. "We're talking to them," Trump told reporters on Friday when asked about his message to Iran.

Vance was the most sceptical voice in Trump's inner circle about the war before it began, arguing for a diplomatic solution. He led the US team at an April summit on Iran in Islamabad and was involved in the talks that produced a US-Iran memorandum of understanding in June. He later led a US delegation to direct talks in Switzerland, which ended with an Iranian commitment to invite UN inspectors to its nuclear facilities. The memorandum collapsed after the Revolutionary Guards resumed attacks on ships. On Wednesday, after Republicans suffered heavy losses in the midterm elections, Vance said the war was the main reason voters had turned against the party.

Qatar remains the central channel. Trump spoke on Friday morning with Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, about Doha's efforts to close the gaps between the two sides. The emir stressed the need to "continue dialogue and pursuing diplomatic means to resolve differences, spare the region further escalation, and ensure freedom of maritime navigation and the security of energy supplies," according to a statement from his office.

The next marker is whether the proposed technical meeting between US and Iranian officials goes ahead in the coming days, which would be the first working-level contact since the June memorandum broke down.