Iran Reportedly Seeks to Negotiate With JD Vance Instead of Kushner and Witkoff

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Representatives of the Iranian government are open to re-negotiating with the U.S., but would prefer to speak with Vice President JD Vance, according to CNN.

Iranian officials had been negotiating with close associates of President Donald Trump in the form of his son-in-law Jared Kushner and friend Steve Witkoff, who, like Trump, are real estate tycoons. During talks last month, the U.S. and Israel began a joint bombing campaign against Iran that is still ongoing. Just one day before the attacks, Oman’s foreign minister, who had been mediating the negotiations, said a “peace deal is within our reach.”

The CNN report came after Trump said Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio – both of whom are considered likely 2028 presidential contenders – are leading a new round of negotiations with Iran.

Such a deal seemed well out of reach after the bombs began falling, even as the president repeatedly insisted that Iran wanted to re-enter negotiations.

On Tuesday night, CNN reported that Iran is open to continuing talks, but not with Kushner and Witkoff. Instead, Vance is reportedly their preferred choice.

“Iranian representatives have let the Trump administration know it does not want to re-enter negotiations with special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and would prefer to engage with Vice President JD Vance, two regional sources said,” CNN reported.

The White House said the report is “false.”

“This story is utterly false,” a White House official told Mediaite. “This obvious op sourced entirely to anonymous sources is clearly a coordinated foreign propaganda campaign meant to undermine the president.”

Vance, who as vice president would have pole position in the race for the Republican nomination in 2028, has cast himself as an opponent of military adventurism, an image that has become difficult to maintain amid the current war. The vice president’s presidential prospects may hinge at least in part on the unpopular war ending sooner rather than later, a dynamic that is perhaps not lost on the Iranian government.

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