Iran has demanded that Vice President J.D. Vance lead any future negotiations with Washington, rejecting the current U.S. negotiating team as fundamentally untrustworthy following military strikes that Tehran believes were planned under the guise of diplomatic talks.
According to diplomatic sources cited by The Daily Beast, Iranian officials have explicitly stated that "if the negotiations are going to have any outcome, JD Vance should join." The ultimatum excludes Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law, from any role in discussions.
The Iranian position stems from what Tehran views as a fundamental betrayal. Following Trump's launch of military strikes against Iranian targets three weeks ago, officials concluded that Witkoff and Kushner used nuclear negotiations as cover for planning an attack. "Another round of deception for the US-Israeli regime to find out a loophole to aggravate the strikes again," a diplomatic source explained.
To understand today's headlines, we must look at yesterday's decisions. The use of negotiations as cover for military planning has historical precedent in Middle East conflicts. During the 1991 Gulf War, last-minute diplomatic efforts continued even as coalition forces finalized attack plans. More recently, the 2015 nuclear deal negotiations themselves occurred against a backdrop of covert operations and cyber warfare.
Vance's acceptability to Iranian leadership stems from his documented skepticism toward U.S. military intervention in the . A Marine Corps veteran, has consistently opposed American military involvement in the region, positioning him as potentially more trustworthy than negotiators perceived as hawkish.
