Mojtaba Khamenei, the Islamic Republic's leader, called in a meeting with Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, for an end to the war and to the state of "no war, no peace"; but he made that end conditional on the other side accepting Tehran's stated conditions. The report of the meeting was published on his official website on Tuesday, 27 October, without a date or place, as a summary in indirect speech and without any verified photo, audio or video of the meeting.
Masoud Pezeshkian called the message "an important step" at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, 28 October, and said the government would pursue it "with all its strength". Before him, his first vice president, Mohammad Reza Aref, had also backed it. At the same meeting Pezeshkian asked ministers to remain in "full readiness" and said the enemy cannot force Iran to surrender.
The conditions are not new
The message of the Islamic Republic's leader contains no new concession. Tehran still says that before any talks begin, the United States must lift the naval blockade of the southern ports; Washington, in turn, sees a retreat on the nuclear programme as the first condition. Khosrow Isfahani, a researcher, wrote in an analysis for Iran International that the message repeats the regime's earlier demands in new language.
At the same time, two different voices can be heard in the media inside Iran. Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), defended the Islamic Republic's withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in a commentary on Wednesday, and Abolfazl Abutorabi, a member of parliament, had called for the same a day earlier.
Vance's letter and Trump's account
The Wall Street Journal had earlier reported that JD Vance, the US vice president, sent a letter to Mohsen Rezaei to test the possibility of resuming negotiations. According to a US official speaking to Axios, the letter says any talks to prevent new attacks must also include the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme.
Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he had not instructed Vance to start peace negotiations and that his contact concerned the Islamic Republic's need for medicine and medical equipment. He added that Vance had asked for his opinion and he had agreed. In an interview with Axios, Trump said talks continue through mediators but their outcome is unclear, and that the United States must "finish the job".
The Islamic Republic's official news agency claimed on Thursday, citing an unnamed "senior security source", that Tehran has not yet replied to the letter.
Military readiness after the US election
US officials say no decision on a new attack has been made, but forces are being moved so that options are ready for the president. According to the Wall Street Journal, another aircraft carrier strike group and a Marine expeditionary unit are heading to the region, a Patriot system is being moved from Texas to Israel, and munitions stocks are being replenished. The US congressional midterm elections take place on 3 November. This week Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of war, fired the Pentagon's top military planner.
The Islamic Republic's leader spoke of ending "no war, no peace", but the regime's conditions for ending the war are the same as before.
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