US Weighs New Strikes on Iran as Vance Reaches Out to Tehran
Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, the military headquarters responsible for American forces in the Middle East, briefed President Donald Trump on options for renewed attacks on Iran, Al Jazeera reported. The same reporting said Vice President JD Vance was seeking to negotiate an end to the war at the same time.
According to Al Jazeera, the United States and Israel have also drawn up joint plans to attack Iran after the US midterm elections on November 3.
The conflict has an earlier chapter. The White House described a US operation called Operation Epic Fury, in which more than 2,000 strikes, it said, shattered Iran's command and control structures, the networks a military uses to direct its forces. The White House said Iran then agreed to a ceasefire, an agreed halt in fighting.
Vance's outreach is the latest attempt to restart talks. The Wall Street Journal reported that Vance sent a letter to Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, a senior body that handles national security decisions. The letter was delivered through Qatari mediators and proposed direct talks led by Vance, with Iran's nuclear programme on the table from the start. Vance also offered to meet Rezaei in person.
Trump has confirmed that he approved the outreach. He said it was related to medical supplies. Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency said Iran had received the letter but had not yet responded to it as of Thursday, October 29.
Vance has said the US objective is to make sure the Iranian regime does not build a nuclear bomb. Qatari mediators have returned to Tehran for talks coordinated with Washington, according to Al Jazeera.
On the military side, the United States has boosted air defences and munitions across the Middle East and moved some troops away from bases vulnerable to Iranian retaliation. Ten US military cargo planes landed at the Ovda and Nevatim air bases in Israel's Negev region, and more aircraft have been sent to Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said he had been briefed on US plans for renewed attacks on Iran and called them "insane."
