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The Wall Street Journal revealed on Wednesday that US Vice President J.D. Vance contacted a senior Iranian security official in an attempt to revive peace talks, which could spare the Islamic Republic a new US attack.
The newspaper reported that Vance sent a message to Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, in a move that the newspaper, citing one of its sources, indicated came under the direction of President Donald Trump.
The newspaper explained that the message, along with subsequent talks between US and Iranian officials, focused on establishing a potential framework for negotiations rather than delving into specific details of a peace proposal.
The war waged by the United States and Israel against Iran in late February caused major disruption to energy supplies from the Gulf region, which had economic repercussions globally.
Since the outbreak of the war, Iran has paralyzed navigation in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which was a passage for about one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, and has also begun attacking ships attempting to pass without its permission.
In return, the United States continues to impose a naval blockade on Iranian ports to pressure the Iranian economy.
The newspaper reported on Wednesday that Washington has asked several Arab Gulf states to prepare for the possibility of launching a "short and intense military campaign" against Iran, following the US midterm elections scheduled for November 3.
However, the newspaper quoted sources familiar with these discussions as saying that President Trump has not yet made a final decision on this matter.
Iran has warned that it will respond more broadly in the event of any new attack, and Rezaei threatened to target infrastructure linked to the United States, including data centers and other facilities related to artificial intelligence.
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