Trump at odds with reports of Vance’s letter to Iran

• President says outreach focused on medical supplies, not peace talks • Tehran confirms receiving vice president’s letter, no response yet • US media claims correspondence sought to avert new strikes TEHRAN: Iranian media reported on Thursday that Tehran had received a letter from US Vice President JD Vance but had not yet responded, amid efforts to revive peace talks between the countries, though President Donald Trump said the outreach was about helping the country get medical supplies. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that “Iran has received the letter, but has not yet responded,” while the Fars news agency carried a similar account, citing “a source familiar with the matter.

” The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing US officials and people familiar with the matter, that Vance had sent the letter to Iranian Security Council chief Mohsen Rezaei at Trump’s direction in a bid to revive peace negotiations and avert new US strikes. The letter and subsequent contact between US and Iranian officials focused on a possible framework for negotiations rather than specific terms for a peace deal, the Journal reported. When asked by reporters later on Wednesday if he directed Vance to reach out to Iran to restart peace negotiations, Trump said, “No”. “What that is is they need help with medical supplies and various things. He asked me what I thought. I said, if you want to do that, that’s OK. Basically, it’s getting supplies in to help people that are not well,” Trump told reporters. Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York and Vance’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the letter and Trump’s remark. The reported correspondence comes as diplomatic efforts to end the war have yet to produce a…