US-Iran Talks Run Beside Plans for New Strikes

More than 10 U.S. military transport aircraft landed at Israeli airbases over the past week as Washington weighed renewed strikes on Iran and pursued a possible negotiated end to the war. The planes’ contents weren’t known. Analysts monitoring flight data said most recent cargo flights traveled from Biggs Army Airfield in El Paso to Nevatim and Ovda airbases; other U.S. military flights went to bases in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait.

On Thursday, U.S. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper briefed President Donald Trump on military options concerning Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing U.S. officials and others with direct knowledge. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine also attended. Reuters said it couldn’t immediately verify the report.

Talks With a Military Backdrop

U.S. Vice President JD Vance offered to meet Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei to discuss a negotiated end to the war. Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday to pursue an agreement. The Washington Post reported that Vance sent Rezaei a letter last week outlining the countries’ interests in possible negotiations: Washington’s main objective was preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, while Tehran’s stated interests included rebuilding its war- and sanctions-hit economy and preserving national sovereignty.

Vance said Iran needed to appoint representatives authorized to negotiate over its nuclear program. A U.S. official said Istanbul or Doha could host direct talks if both sides agreed. The Washington Post reported that U.S. officials viewed Rezaei as an important contact because of his influence in Iran’s security establishment and access to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. Rezaei, a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has connections with officials overseeing the economy. Iranian leaders reportedly viewed the letter as a sign of respect, but there was no indication they had softened their position on the nuclear issue.

The sequencing dispute remains blunt: Washington wants nuclear issues addressed first; Tehran insists the United States first end its naval blockade and lift restrictions on Iranian oil exports. Qatar presented Iran with a draft peace plan on Sunday. A senior Iranian official later called its ideas unacceptable. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday that Tehran was consulting with intermediaries about implementing its own seven-day proposal to end the war.

Trump confirmed Wednesday that he approved Vance’s outreach, but described it as a matter of medical supplies, not renewed peace negotiations. “Basically, it’s getting supplies in to help people that are not well,” he told reporters. Asked whether he had directed Vance to restart negotiations, Trump said, “No.” Iran confirmed it had received Vance’s letter but had not responded. The semi-official Tasnim news agency said Tehran still required the United States to meet seven conditions and that “any position that contradicts this framework is unacceptable.” Tasnim didn’t detail the conditions.

The Threat Behind the Negotiating Table

Washington and Jerusalem were reported to be considering a “short but intensive operation” involving renewed strikes after the November 3 U.S. midterm elections. Reported possible targets included Iranian energy sites, nuclear facilities, and missile and drone arsenals. Trump could still decide against military action. The United States had told several Gulf Arab countries to prepare for a campaign after the elections, the Wall Street Journal previously reported.

The United States also appeared to be preparing for another attack by sending an additional Patriot system to Israel, moving troops away from bases considered more vulnerable to escalation, and sending air defenses, munitions and supplies to the region. Iran warned publicly and privately that it would attack a wide range of U.S. and Gulf state targets if the United States struck. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Thursday that three tankers had struck naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz during the previous 24 hours.

At a Fox News town hall in Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday, Vance said Trump wouldn’t allow the conflict to become a prolonged U.S. military engagement. But he also said opposition to lengthy interventions didn’t rule out force: “I think there’s a difference between criticizing foreign military misadventures and saying that you can never ever use the American military.” U.S. military officials were preparing options for possible further strikes, and Trump had yet to announce a decision.

Rival States, Narrow Choices

Iranian analysts said Israel’s election could affect the timing, scope or objectives of military action but wouldn’t fundamentally change Israel’s approach to Iran’s nuclear and missile programs or regional influence. “One cannot simply conclude that the mutual threats or strategic differences between Iran and Israel will disappear because a prime minister leaves office,” Masoud Asadollahi told Nour News.

The election debate in Iran also drew a sharp comment from a social media user, who contrasted Israeli participation with low turnout in Iranian elections: “We have influence over elections all over the world, and the results of elections everywhere in the world affect our lives, except for the results of our own elections.”

Meanwhile, former diplomat Fereydoun Majlesi said Iran’s condition of “neither war nor peace” was becoming a major economic burden. He said uncertainty led businesses to hold cash and avoid investment, weakening production, employment and growth over time. The negotiating tables, the blockade and the strike plans belong to governments. The costs described by Majlesi land in the economy people depend on.