United States Vice President JD Vance has spent the past fortnight directly engaged in indirect negotiations with Iran, aiming to broker a new ceasefire and resume stalled nuclear discussions, Axios reported, citing two sources with knowledge of the matter.

Behind closed doors, Vance has held almost daily discussions with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Pakistan’s Army Chief Asim Munir and other mediators, according to the report. White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential adviser Jared Kushner are also involved in the diplomatic track.

The push began about two weeks ago when Vance sent a formal letter to Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and a close confidant of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, proposing a return to direct talks. The two sides have discussed holding a working-level technical meeting between American and Iranian officials in the coming days, although no such meeting has yet taken place. The vice president’s office chose not to comment on the talks.

According to US officials and regional sources cited by Axios, President Donald Trump currently remains open to letting the diplomatic efforts proceed to test whether an agreement can be forged. “We’re talking to them,” Trump told reporters on Friday when asked about his message to Iran. At the same time, US forces remain ready to strike if he orders renewed military action.

Vance was the most sceptical voice in Trump’s inner circle about the war before it began in late February, and he has openly blamed the conflict for the Republican Party’s heavy defeats in this week’s midterm elections. He previously led the American delegation for direct talks hosted in Switzerland, which led Tehran to pledge that UN inspectors would be welcomed back to nuclear facilities.