Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Iran, News, World News, JD Vance
Sources in the Middle East have alleged that Iranian leaders won't meet with Donald Trump's top envoys to discuss the prospect of peace.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Gulf insiders claimed that the decision to refuse negotiations with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner centred on the Republican administration's allegedly 'backstabbing' nature.
Witkoff is the US's Middle East envoy, while Kushner is one of Trump's political advisers. He's also the son-in-law of the right-wing leader, having been married to his eldest daughter, Ivanka, since 2009.
Iranian leaders arrived at this verdict shortly after initial US-Israeli military strikes hit the capital, Tehran, last month (28 February). They allege that this attack, which killed the country's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was launched just days after conversations were had with officials in Washington.
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These political talks reportedly wrapped up in Geneva on 26 February.
Apparently, however, leaders are open to the idea of sitting down with Vice President JD Vance, who has remained largely quiet since Trump and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu pressed their respective red buttons.
He's also thought to have been somewhat sceptical of 'Operation Epic Fury', the initial order Trump gave to rain missiles down on Iran last month.
Political commentators predicted that 40-year-old Vance would likely serve as America's chief negotiator in peace talks with Iranian officials set to take place in Islamabad, Pakistan, later this week.
One source told the publication: "Vance is preferred. They don’t want to work with Jared and Witkoff because they stabbed them in the back."
A second insider added that the general consensus from parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is that the US VP is most likely to stick to his word, and as such is seen as the most appropriate American senior to converse with.
It's thought that Vance's appointment as the new negotiation lead signals Trump's intent to bring the conflict to a close following a controversial war strategy so far, which several military officials have publicly criticised.
Speaking in the Oval Office on Tuesday (24 Mar), 79-year-old Trump confirmed his right-hand man was among 'several people' taking part in fresh conversations, adding: "They're [Witkoff and Kushner] doing it, along with Marco, JD, we have a number of people doing it."
Launching their joint assault last month, Trump and Netanyahu claimed it served as an official response to the Islamic Republic's increasingly totalitarian leadership - specifically, its oppression of Iranian citizens.
The political pair also claimed the attack had been partially aimed at making sure that the country 'does not obtain a nuclear weapon' anytime soon.
Trump insisted on Monday (23 Mar) that strikes on Iran were to be postponed for five days following 'productive talks' with Iran's leaders.
"I AM PLEASE TO REPORT THAT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND THE COUNTRY OF IRAN, HAVE HAD, OVER THE LAST TWO DAYS, VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS REGARDING A COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF OUR HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST," he wrote on Truth Social on Monday.
His remark was quickly contradicted by officials in the Middle East, however, claiming Trump had been forced to 'back down' after receiving a 'firm warning' from those in charge.
Members of the Iranian embassy in Kabul wrote online that the President had pulled his troops back in response to threats from Iran to 'target the energy infrastructure of the entire region'.
Iranian Fars reporters also cited an insider who'd claimed that no direct communication had taken place between the US and Iran, nor through intermediaries.
