US Vice President JD Vance is expected to travel to Qatar in the coming days for direct talks with representatives of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to senior regional officials, a move that would mark a sharp turn in the Trump administration's approach to the Islamic Republic.
The meeting is being arranged following a conversation between President Donald Trump and Qatar's Prime Minister, in which the two leaders discussed the possibility of reopening the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for unfreezing $8 billion in Iranian assets currently held under US sanctions, according to sources including Turkey's intelligence chief.
Vance, who has quietly opposed continued confrontation with Iran and worked behind the scenes in the White House to prevent escalation, is leading the initiative with Trump's approval, the sources said. The Vice President is scheduled to meet in Doha with Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and a personal envoy of Khamenei.
Rezaei is wanted internationally for his alleged role in multiple terror attacks, including the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people and wounded hundreds more.
