US proposes Vance-Ghalibaf talks with Turkey as one intermediary: Source

Al Monitor -March23ed2026

By:Ezgi Akin

ANKARA — The United States has proposed holding talks between Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, a Turkish source confirmed to Al-Monitor, in a potential shift in efforts to open a diplomatic channel with Tehran as the war approaches the one-month mark.

Both the proposal for the talks and the potential negotiations would happen through intermediaries that include Turkey, the source said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed efforts to end the war on Monday with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, a Turkish diplomatic source said. The conversations came after Fidan’s talks on Sunday with US officials and his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi.

Separately, mediators are working to convene a meeting in Islamabad between senior US and Iranian officials as early as this week, with Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt facilitating the effort, Axios reported earlier Monday.

Iran has yet to respond to the proposal, the source said. The proposal was first reported by Iran Nuances as US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he was pausing strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure for five days, citing “productive” talks.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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