So it's difficult to tell if American leadership is serious about wanting to end the war, or if the real purpose of such talk is to manipulate the markets. But for those who want the war to end, it's a good sign that Vice President JD Vance is involved in peace negotiations, given his longstanding and unwavering derision toward foreign intervention.

President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the United States is negotiating with Iran on a peace deal. The White House sent a 15-point proposal to the Iranians, who reportedly called it unreasonable. Now Trump is telling the Iranians they better make a deal while they still can. Meanwhile, both sides are preparing for escalation.

Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have joined Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on the negotiating team. Trump said so in a Cabinet meeting on Thursday when he asked the veep to provide an update on Iran.

Back Stabbers

According to multiple reports, the Iranians want nothing to do with Witkoff or Kushner, who acted as negotiators when the war broke out. Gulf sources said the Iranians view Witkoff and Kushner as having "stabbed them in the back," per reports. Other reports suggest Witkoff and Kushner are viewed as "Israeli assets that dragged a president into a war he wants to get out of."

The New York Post corroborated Vance's emerging leading role in negotiations. Per the Post:

The behind-the-scenes insight positions Vance — long seen as a skeptic of foreign military entanglements — as a possible lead negotiator, reflecting both his growing clout inside the administration and a belief among Iranian officials that he represents a different kind of American interlocutor.

The Iranians' likely distrust toward the Americans is understandable, given that the United States has attacked them in the middle of negotiations twice over the last year. The U.S. defense, however, is that the Iranians were using the negotiations to stall and that they were not serious about reaching a deal.

Vance Acceptable

But when it comes to Vance, they're more open to talking to him, if such reports are accurate. According to the Guardian:

Pakistani sources said [Vance] was being put forward as a probable chief negotiator from the US side if talks went ahead. Iranian sources have said they would refuse to sit down with Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, or Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who led the nuclear negotiations with Iran before the war.

The Guardian also reported that the Iranians "viewed Vance as a more acceptable interlocutor" because they see him "as a sceptic of the decision to entangle the US in a Middle East war and has largely kept quiet on the conflict." Pakistani officials said the two sides may soon meet in Islamabad.