Iran is considering its response to a letter from US Vice President JD Vance as diplomatic efforts to end the eight-month war gather pace, with Iranian negotiators holding talks with Qatari mediators in Doha.
Iran's security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, said he had received and studied the letter but had yet to respond, describing a marked change in Washington's tone towards Tehran.
"I have studied the letter, but I have not yet answered it. Their tone has completely changed, and this is a good sign," Mr Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said in an interview with state television late Saturday. He declined to disclose further details because Washington had not made the contents public.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also described the American outreach as constructive but ruled out an imminent meeting with US officials.
"The American side's attempt to open the door to dialogue and understanding more broadly is a positive step," he told Al Jazeera.
"There are no plans currently for meetings with US officials," he said, dismissing reports of imminent contact as media speculation. "We see no need to meet with the Americans at present. Our conditions are clear, and mediators are continuing their consultations regarding them."
Iranian negotiators were in Doha for discussions with Qatari mediators, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters. The Qatari team has remained in frequent contact with US negotiators, following more than 12 hours of discussions in Tehran on Friday.
A Qatari government aircraft also spent about 16 hours in Tehran between Friday and Saturday, according to flight-tracking data, coinciding with reports of high-level consultations between Qatari and Iranian officials.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Mr Vance had written to Mr Rezaei at the direction of US President Donald Trump to revive peace negotiations.
Mr Trump acknowledged authorising Mr Vance to contact Tehran but said the outreach concerned humanitarian assistance and the delivery of medical supplies, denying he had directed the Vice President to restart peace negotiations.
Seven conditions
Pakistan, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey have been involved in efforts to narrow differences between the two sides. Mr Araghchi said Tehran remained in close contact with intermediaries over its seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran effectively blocked the vital waterway by attacking ships and laying mines after being attacked by Israel and the US in February at the start of the Iran war. The US has retaliated by imposing a blockade on Iranian ports.
Mr Rezaei said Iran would not resume negotiations or reopen the strait until Washington met Tehran's seven conditions, which include demands for an end to hostilities, the lifting of restrictions on Iranian ports and the release of frozen Iranian assets.
Washington has meanwhile kept the possibility of renewed military action open. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that Mr Trump had set no deadline for diplomatic efforts and had made no decision on further strikes.
"If there is a diplomatic solution, we would be open to it," Mr Rubio told reporters at the conclusion of a G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta, adding that any agreement must address Washington's core security concerns.
He said the US had the military capabilities necessary to act if diplomacy failed, while emphasising that Mr Trump preferred a diplomatic solution.
The diplomatic opening came despite increasing threats from Tehran. Supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei has reportedly ordered the armed forces to respond immediately to any threat, without geographical limits, and expand their list of potential American and Israeli targets.
Iran analyst Hamidreza Azizi of the International Crisis Group said Tehran appeared to be keeping diplomatic channels open while seeking to redefine the military consequences of their failure.
“For now, diplomacy and military preparations are proceeding simultaneously,” he wrote on X.
“The emerging Iranian position seems to be that an agreement remains possible, but another war would be fought under different rules and on a much wider battlefield,” Mr Aziz said.
“Whether Washington takes these warnings as credible deterrence or further escalatory threats could significantly influence what happens next.”
