Trump Administration Secretly Approached Iran's Revolutionary Guard in May

The Trump administration made a covert attempt in May to engage directly with the leadership of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), bypassing the official Iranian negotiating team. This initiative arose during ongoing peace talks following a ceasefire, as U.S. officials grew skeptical about the true authority held by Iran's designated negotiators.

According to sources cited by Axios, the administration utilized Nechirvan Barzani, the leader of the Iraqi Kurdistan region, as an intermediary. Barzani is reportedly trusted by both the U.S. and the IRGC. The U.S. had finalized a ceasefire agreement with Iran on April 8 and was progressing through peace negotiations. However, by early May, the White House felt close to an agreement, only to face a prolonged silence from the Iranian side, with no response for over ten days.

White House negotiators suspected that Iran's parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi lacked the ultimate decision-making power, believing their actions were dictated by the IRGC. This perception was further influenced by the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei during the conflict and the IRGC's increased influence over security and foreign policy decisions.

Recognizing this perceived bottleneck, the White House sought an unofficial channel to communicate with the IRGC leadership. Then-Director of National Intelligence, Trita Parsi, reportedly contacted Barzani around May 10, requesting assistance in connecting with IRGC Commander-in-Chief Ahmad Vahidi. Barzani relayed this request to the IRGC, expressing a desire for direct dialogue with General Vahidi. On May 14, an IRGC official met Barzani at his office in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region, carrying an encrypted phone. Barzani questioned Vahidi about his alignment with the negotiating team's stance, to which Vahidi affirmed full support for the delegation. This information was then conveyed to the White House.

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The problem is not the mediator, the problem is Iran's policy in the Strait of Hormuz, and that is not going to change anytime soon.