A letter and a deadline

At President Donald Trump's direction, Vice President JD Vance sent a letter to Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei seeking to revive peace talks, The Wall Street Journal reported. The outreach aims to prevent a possible new United States attack on Iran following next week's midterm elections, and Iran has confirmed receiving a message, though it has yet to issue an official response.

President Trump said on Friday that the war with Iran is going to get wrapped up soon, without saying how, telling Kansas City radio station KCMO that the United States needs a guarantee there will never be a nuclear weapon. He added that the war would end one way or another, and said the United States would not strike Iran before the elections.

What mediators are proposing

Qatari mediators were in Tehran on Friday to convey the latest edits to a draft proposal to end the eight-month conflict, and there were indications of progress, a source familiar with the diplomacy told CBS News. Iran is expected to respond by the weekend. Axios reported that Qatar-led mediators are pressing Iran to accept nuclear concessions, with a proposal that would give UN inspectors access to Iran's bombed nuclear facilities in exchange for limited sanctions relief and access to frozen funds.

Tehran wants the United States to lift its blockade of Iranian ports and drop sanctions on its oil and gas sales first, according to the same reporting. Trump and Vance met on Wednesday to discuss a possible gesture of goodwill toward Iran, such as sending humanitarian goods like food and medicine, a source familiar with the matter told Axios.

The military backdrop

The Wall Street Journal also reported that CENTCOM Commander Brad Cooper briefed Trump on military options that could be carried out as soon as the midterms conclude, and that several Gulf states have been warned to prepare for a short, intense campaign. The reports remain reports, not confirmed decisions, and diplomacy and military preparations are running side by side.

Sources: The Wall Street Journal | Alliance for Peacebuilding