US Proposes Vance-Ghalibaf Talks With Turkey as Primary Intermediary

The US proposed direct talks between Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, with Turkey serving as the primary intermediary, according to Al-Monitor sources. Egypt, Pakistan, and Turkey passed messages between Washington and Tehran on Sunday and were attempting to arrange the call on Monday. Ghalibaf, an IRGC-vetted figure, has emerged as the central Iranian interlocutor despite publicly denying any negotiations are occurring. The trilateral mediation channel involving Turkey, Egypt, and Pakistan represents a novel diplomatic architecture for US-Iran engagement.