Iranian representatives have let the Trump administration know it does not want to re-enter negotiations with special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and would prefer to engage with Vice President JD Vance, two regional sources said.
The message, which was passed through back channels to the US, signals Iran believes discussions involving Witkoff and Kushner wouldn’t be productive given the deficit of trust following the breakdown of negotiations prior to Israel and the US launching military action.
Vance — in contrast to Witkoff, Kushner and even Secretary of State Marco Rubio — is viewed as more sympathetic to wanting to end the war, the sources said.
“The perception is that Vance would be intent on wrapping up the conflict,” one of the sources said.
Though regional players also recognize that it could be risky for Vance to enter into negotiations as it won’t be easy to negotiate an end to the conflict.
Witkoff, in particular remains heavily involved in the portfolio from the US side and the sources said that the Iranians will likely have no option but to engage with whoever the Trump administration sends to negotiate.
“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 second source said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump said all the key members of his diplomatic team were involved in negotiations.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNN that it’s Trump’s call who negotiates for the US.
“President Trump and only President Trump determines who negotiates on behalf of the United States. As the President stated today, Vice President Vance, Secretary Rubio, Special Envoy Witkoff, and Mr. Kushner will all be involved,” Leavitt said.
Another White House official said the regional sources were trying to undermine Trump.
“This obvious op sourced entirely to ‘regional sources’ is clearly a coordinated foreign propaganda campaign meant to undermine the president,” the White House official said.
For now, a meeting between the US and Iran later this week in Islamabad remains a possibility — but even those advocating for it to take place are skeptical that it will actually happen, sources said.
This post has been updated with additional details.
