US Vice President JD Vance has been in almost daily contact with Pakistan’s Army Chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, as Washington seeks a new ceasefire and a possible nuclear deal with Iran, Axios reported. Over the past two weeks, Vance has personally taken charge of behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts, with Pakistan and Qatar serving as central players in trying to return Washington and Tehran to the negotiating table.
According to the report, Vance has been speaking regularly with Munir and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani about the negotiations. These discussions have included the possibility of arranging a working-level technical meeting between officials from the US and Iran in the coming days, though no such meeting has happened yet.
Pakistan has previously held a significant role in diplomatic efforts between the two nations. Vance led the US negotiating team at an Iran summit in Islamabad in April and was personally involved in negotiations that resulted in a US-Iran memorandum of understanding in June. He later headed the American delegation during another round of direct negotiations in Switzerland. Those talks concluded with Iran committing to invite United Nations inspectors to visit its nuclear facilities, but the agreement collapsed after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps resumed attacks on ships.
The involvement of the Vice President has elevated these efforts to the highest levels of the Trump administration. White House envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner are also participating. Two weeks ago, Vance sent a letter to Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, proposing that direct negotiations resume. Iranian officials reportedly viewed the letter as a positive development for restarting diplomatic engagement.
President Donald Trump stated on Friday that Washington is talking to Tehran and has allowed diplomatic efforts to continue. However, the US military remains prepared to resume strikes if Trump decides to abandon negotiations. While some progress has been made, the report described the negotiations as slow.
