Iran Calls Vance Letter a 'Positive Step' but Rules Out Talks for Now

Iran’s top diplomat says Tehran has taken a hard look at Vice President JD Vance’s letter and sees Washington’s outreach as a “positive step,” but he stopped well short of agreeing to sit down with the United States. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made the comments to Al Jazeera on Saturday, according to the network’s live coverage.

Araghchi told Al Jazeera that Tehran had studied the letter Vance sent and called Washington’s attempt to open dialogue a “positive step,” the network reported. Reuters, summarizing the same interview, reported that Araghchi said the letter had been discussed in high-level meetings in Tehran, though he added that there are currently no plans for direct talks with the United States.

BREAKING: Iran’s FM Abbas Araghchi tells Al Jazeera Tehran has studied a letter sent by US Vice President JD Vance, calls Washington’s attempt to open dialogue a “positive step.”

🔴 LIVE updates: https://t.co/uyXbCXeySo pic.twitter.com/13UjRw1m1T

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) October 31, 2026

The response is the first on-the-record reaction from Iran’s foreign minister since news of the letter broke earlier this week. The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Vance had written to Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, in a bid to revive peace negotiations, according to Reuters. The Times reported that the letter was passed to Rezaei by Qatari mediators and proposed a meeting between U.S. and Iranian officials, with Vance leading the American side as he did during talks in June, Al Jazeera reported.

The Guardian reported that the letter would require Tehran to make commitments on its nuclear program at the start of a process that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days in exchange for U.S. sanctions relief. According to The Guardian, Iran has been reluctant to make upfront, irreversible nuclear commitments if the American steps in return could be reversed.

Trump: It’s About Medical Supplies

President Donald Trump has played down the idea that the letter was a peace overture. Asked by reporters on Wednesday whether he directed Vance to restart negotiations, Trump said “No,” according to The Jerusalem Post. “What that is is they need help with medical supplies and various things,” Trump said, as quoted by The Jerusalem Post. “He (Vance) asked me what I thought. I said, if you want to do that, that’s okay. Basically, it’s getting supplies in to help people that are not well.”

The Journal had reported that Vance sent the letter at Trump’s direction, The Jerusalem Post noted. Either way, the president’s framing keeps the pressure on Tehran: any talks happen on Washington’s terms, and the administration has not signaled it will ease off.

Tehran Talks Tough at the Same Time

Even as Araghchi praised the outreach, Iran’s leadership kept up its threats. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei ordered military commanders to ensure an “immediate and effective response to any threat, without geographical limitation,” Al Jazeera reported on Saturday.

Iranian officials have also insisted their own terms come first. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said on Thursday that Tehran had received the letter but had not responded, and that Tehran insists on its seven conditions being met by the United States, according to The Jerusalem Post. “Any position that contradicts this framework is unacceptable,” the agency added, as quoted by The Jerusalem Post. Among the conditions Iran has tied to reopening the Strait of Hormuz are lifting the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports and lifting sanctions on Iranian oil exports, Reuters reported.

The diplomatic back-and-forth comes as the conflict nears the end of its eighth month and as fears grow that fighting could resume after next week’s midterm elections, The National reported. For now, Tehran is saying the right words about dialogue while refusing to commit to a meeting, and the White House is making clear it will not chase Iran to the table.

Sources

• Al Jazeera, Iran war live blog, Oct. 31, 2026
• Reuters via Devdiscourse, Oct. 31, 2026
• The Jerusalem Post, Oct. 29, 2026
• The Guardian, Oct. 29, 2026
• The National, Oct. 29, 2026
• Al Jazeera English on X

Reporting by Daily Beltway.