Iran is seeking the involvement of Vice President JD Vance in negotiations to resolve the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, following a 15-point ceasefire proposal from former President Trump.

According to reports, Iranian officials are inclined to engage with Vance, expressing distrust towards prominent Middle East negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, whom they accuse of betrayal.

Sources revealed to CNN that Iran perceives Vance as more committed to resolving the conflict, unlike Kushner, Witkoff, or Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Another source familiar with the situation elaborated to The Telegraph, criticizing Kushner and Witkoff as untrustworthy.

“Vance is the preferred negotiator. Iran has no interest in collaborating with Kushner and Witkoff due to their perceived betrayal,” the source stated.

Tehran views negotiations led by Witkoff and Kushner as emblematic of past diplomatic failures, particularly before the United States and Israel initiated their military actions, and doubts their current effectiveness.

CNN reported that Iranian envoys flat out refuse to re-start negotiations with Kushner and Witkoff, citing two sources in the region.

Two regional sources told CNN that Iran sees Vance – who has denied rumors of splitting with Trump on the war since it began a month ago – as more sympathetic to potentially ending it. 

Iran wants Vice President JD Vance at the negotiating table to help end the ongoing Middle East conflict after Trump sent the nation a 15-point ceasefire plan

Iranian officials reportedly said they would rather talk with Vance because top Mideast envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner ‘stabbed them in the back’

However, its believed that ultimately, Iran doesn’t have a choice and may have to deal with Witkoff, who is heavily embedded in the US’ Middle East dealings. 

‘Who the administration decides to send, the Iranians will have to deal with, but it doesn’t mean they don’t have a preference,’ the other source said. 

The White House said  ‘President Trump and only President Trump determines who negotiates on behalf of the United States.’ 

However, the president himself has said that Vance may be leading the discussions. 

Meanwhile, Kushner and Witkoff are working on a framework involving ‘the declaration of a monthlong ceasefire period, during which the sides would negotiate,’ sources told Israel‘s Channel 12.   

The 15-point plan, modeled on Trump’s Gaza deal, was confirmed by two officials briefed on the talks, the New York Times reported. 

It includes Iran dismantling all of its nuclear and long-range missile capabilities, as well as opening the Strait of Hormuz, and abandoning its ties to proxy terror groups across the Middle East.

The proposal outlines reciprocal benefits for Iran, including assistance with advancing its civilian nuclear program, as well as lifting all sanctions imposed by the international community.

‘The perception is that Vance would be intent on wrapping up the conflict’ as opposed to Kushner, Witkoff or Secretary of State Marco Rubio (pictured left with Trump)

Iran ian envoys flat out refuse to re-start negotiations with Kushner and Witkoff

Pakistan delivered the plan to Iranian officials with a 24-hour deadline to respond, Haaretz reported.  

Trump said Tuesday that Iran had abandoned its nuclear ambitions, with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio leading the peace talks. 

‘They’re talking to us, and they’re talking sense,’ the President told reporters in the Oval Office. 

Multiple sources said Iran and the United States could stage talks in Islamabad, Pakistan this week but are doubtful they materialize.  

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has urged Trump to press on with the war, privately describing the conflict as a ‘historic opportunity’ to remake the region and pushing for US troops to seize Iranian energy sites and topple the regime.

Tehran may send Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to any talks, though he and other Iranian officials have signaled deep reluctance to engage, the WSJ reported. 

Witkoff and Kushner would likely lead formal negotiations, but Vance could step in to seal any agreement, a US official told the Wall Street Journal.

US officials have suggested that Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, a hardline regime figure, could meet with the Trump delegation in Pakistan.

Closing the Strait of Hormuz has proven relatively inexpensive for the regime, relying on drones and explosive suicide boats to disrupt global shipping

Tehran, so far, has not promised to reopen the passageway. Iran’s stranglehold over the Hormuz is seen as it’s greatest leverage of the US in the ongoing conflict.

However, Ghalibaf is unlikely to leave Iran unless Vance also attends those talks, suggesting he may refuse to engage with Witkoff or Kushner.

Trump announced on Monday a five-day ceasefire on all strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure after what he described as ‘very good conversations’ aimed at ending the war. Top Iranian officials flatly rejected his claim that peace talks are underway. 

The ceasefire did not last the night. Iranian state media reported US-Israeli strikes hit two gas facilities and a pipeline on Monday, prompting Tehran to launch ballistic missiles at central Tel Aviv and Kuwait. 

Vance has also held private calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the question of negotiations with Tehran, according to multiple reports. 

The vice president built his political career by advocating against foreign wars abroad in the Middle East and is viewed within Trump’s inner circle as a non-interventionist voice. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to the White House and a spokesperson for Vance for further comment. 

Markets reacted positively to Trump’s ceasefire on Monday, with the Dow surging 1,000 points in pre-market trading, the S&P and Nasdaq each jumping more than 2 percent, while oil dropped 10 percent.

Oil prices fell another five percent and Asian shares gained on Wednesday over possibilities of a de-escalation of the Iran war and negotiations between the United States and Iran.

US officials have suggested that Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf (pictured), a hardline regime figure, could meet with the Trump delegation in Pakistan

Rocket trails are seen in the sky above the Israeli coastal city of Netanya amid a fresh barrage of Iranian missile attacks

The Trump administration is said to have offered a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran. 

Trump’s claims of progress being made from talks with Iran this week and his postponement on Monday of a deadline to ‘obliterate’ Iran’s power plants over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz have also fueled optimism that an end to the Iran war could come soon.

With the Strait of Hormuz being a key waterway for crude oil and liquefied natural gas transport, oil and gas prices have spiked and fluctuated in recent days.

Trump’s faltering ceasefire came after he threatened over the weekend to bomb Iran’s electricity grid unless the regime reopened the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.

Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war has caused a global oil and energy crisis.

Gas prices have surged to an average of $4.00 a gallon nationwide up from $2.90 before the conflict began three weeks ago.

The narrow strait – through which a fifth of the world’s oil flows – remains blocked by the threat of Iranian mines and missiles.

Tehran has so far refused to promise any reopening. Iran’s stranglehold over Hormuz is seen as its greatest point of leverage over the US in the conflict. 

Closing the Strait of Hormuz has proven relatively inexpensive for the regime, relying on drones and explosive suicide boats to disrupt global shipping.

Trump has also threatened to deploy US troops to seize Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, through which 90 percent of Iran’s crude oil exports pass. 

While Iran has denied negotiations were taking place, and attacks in the Middle East continued, Pakistan has offered to host talks between Washington and Tehran.

And as Trump raised optimism of a de-escalation of the war, at least 1,000 more American troops from the 82nd Airborne Division are said to be deployed to the Middle East in the coming days.