Vance Writes to Iran's Security Chief as Trump Calls It a Medical Supplies Offer. Tell Americans the Truth About the Talks.

The facts come first below. My opinion follows in the section marked as opinion.

Vice President JD Vance has sent a letter to Mohsen Rezaei, the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, in what U.S. news outlets describe as a bid to revive peace talks in the war with Iran that began in February. President Donald Trump says the outreach is about something else: helping Iran get medical supplies. Iran says it has received the letter but has not answered, Reuters reported in a story published by Al-Monitor.

What was reported

The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported Wednesday that Vance sent the letter to revive negotiations, citing U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter. Reuters said it could not immediately verify those reports. The Journal reported that Vance sent the letter at Trump's direction, Reuters reported.

According to the Journal, the letter and follow-up discussions did not cover specific peace terms but a potential "framework for negotiations," and the goal was to see if Washington and Tehran could find enough common ground to persuade Trump not to order a short, intense attack in the coming weeks. The Times reported the letter proposed a meeting soon, with Vance leading a U.S. delegation, and that it was passed to Rezaei by Qatari mediators on Sunday, Al Jazeera reported. The letter itself has not been published.

The president's version

Asked Wednesday whether he directed Vance to reach out to restart peace negotiations, Trump said no. "What that is is they need help with medical supplies and various things. He (Vance) asked me what I thought. I said, if you want to do that, that's okay. Basically, it's getting supplies in to help people that are not well," Reuters reported.

Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency said Thursday that Tehran had received the letter but had not responded, and that the United States must meet Iran's conditions. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said progress can only come if Iran's seven conditions are met, and that the "carrot-and-stick approach has no effect on Iran." Those conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz include lifting the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil exports, according to Reuters.

Signs of more fighting

The outreach comes as Trump has warned Gulf allies to prepare for a brief, high-intensity military campaign after next week's midterm elections, according to the Journal, as cited by Al Jazeera. On Thursday, Adm. Brad Cooper, the senior U.S. officer overseeing the Middle East, met Trump at the White House to outline military options, the Journal reported; Reuters said it could not independently verify that report, according to Reuters.

The United States and Israel launched the war against Iran at the end of February, and the U.S. has since imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports. The war's effect on energy costs has weighed on Republican candidates and Trump's approval ratings ahead of the midterms, Reuters reported.

Analysts quoted by Al Jazeera were wary. Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group said the risk of new strikes is "dangerously high." Hamidreza Azizi, also of the Crisis Group, said, "At the end of the day, Trump makes the final decisions," Al Jazeera reported.

Opinion: Tell the American people the truth about the talks

If the vice president is trying to end this war on terms that keep Iran from a nuclear weapon, I hope he succeeds. Americans have borne eight months of conflict, higher fuel prices and the risk to our sailors in the Gulf. A real chance at peace is worth taking, and it is good that someone in this administration is pressing for it.

But the public should not have to sort out two different stories. Two major newspapers report a letter seeking to restart negotiations, possibly to head off new strikes. The president says it is about medicine. Both cannot be the whole truth. Perhaps the White House wants room to deny talks if they fail, or to avoid looking soft before an election. That is understandable as politics. It is not good enough when American lives may be on the line.

Iran's government has earned no trust. Its demands are sweeping, and its leaders talk openly of retaliation. No American should be naive about that. Yet strength and diplomacy are not opposites. A nation that can strike hard can also afford to talk first.

The psalmist gives the right order: "Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it." Peace is not something we wait to fall into our laps. It is pursued, deliberately, by people willing to do the hard work.

We asked earlier this month whether the public had heard enough about war plans in US Plans Could Use 'Mother of All Bombs' on Iran, Reports Say. The same question applies to peace. Before any new campaign begins after the votes are counted, Congress and the country deserve a straight account of what was offered, what was refused, and why.