US floats 15-Point plan to end Iran War, with a catch: Tehran prefers Vance to lead talks

The United States took a key step in its quest to end the war with Iran by sending, via Pakistan, a 15-point plan to resolve the Middle East conflict.

According to The New York Times, two U.S. officials confirmed the proposal. However, it is not yet clear whether Tehran or Israel, which have been trading attacks for several weeks, are willing to accept such a roadmap as a basis for a negotiation.

The initiative reflects the Trump administration's intention to find a quick, diplomatic way out of a conflict that has generated strong tensions throughout the Middle East and raised significant concern for the global economy due to volatility in crude oil prices. However, the outlook remains uncertain: the Iranian regime publicly communicated that there are still no ongoing negotiations with Washington, and it is also unclear whether Israel, an active party in the war, fully supports the White House's proposal. 

Parallel to the NYT report, it emerged that Iran signaled, through intermediaries, that it prefers to negotiate with Vice President JD Vance rather than with other U.S. representatives, such as Special Envoy Steve Witkoff—one of Trump’s closest foreign policy advisors—or Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, according to CNN.

According to the news network's report, the Iranian regime lost confidence in Witkoff and Kushner following the collapse of previous talks and the start of joint U.S./Israeli military actions against Iran.

According to sources quoted by the network, Tehran views Vice President Vance as a more willing interlocutor for negotiating peace.

This came hours after President Trump himself confirmed that both Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are actively engaged in talks with Iran, along with Kushner and Witkoff.

While there are signs of optimism from Washington about the possibility of reaching a deal, even Trump revealed that Iran sent the White House an oil-and-gas-related "gift," and that reaching an agreement could take time, especially if there is no full trust between Washington and Tehran.