Ahmad Vahidi, commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, center, attends a memorial prayer for former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the Grand Mosalla in Tehran on July 5. [AFP]
Ahmad Vahidi, commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, center, attends a memorial prayer for former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the Grand Mosalla in Tehran on July 5. [AFP]

The Trump administration secretly reached out to the leadership of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in May, while end-of-war negotiations with Tehran were still underway, it has emerged.

Axios reported Sunday, citing multiple sources, that the Trump administration contacted the Revolutionary Guard leadership in May through Nechirvan Barzani, president of Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government.

At the time, Washington had agreed to a truce with Iran and was engaged in negotiations toward a formal end to the war, but suspected that the Iranian negotiating team — National Assembly Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi — lacked the real authority to close a deal.

Those doubts deepened as senior Iranian figures, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, died during the war and the Revolutionary Guard expanded its influence over security and foreign policy.

The White House concluded that the Guard was constraining the Iranian negotiators' decision-making and that an informal channel to the Guard's leadership was needed, Axios reported.

Then-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard contacted Barzani around May 10, asking him to help arrange a line of communication with Revolutionary Guard Commander Ahmad Vahidi. Barzani was trusted by both sides.

Gabbard made clear to Barzani that the outreach had been authorized by President Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

Barzani agreed and asked the Revolutionary Guard whether it would be willing to speak directly with Vahidi. On May 14, a Guard official arrived at Barzani's office in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish autonomous zone, carrying an encrypted phone.

Barzani asked Vahidi whether the Guard was aligned with the Iranian negotiating team. Vahidi said he "fully supported" the negotiators, according to sources cited by Axios.

Barzani relayed the Guard's position to Gabbard, who in turn reported it to the White House.

The White House then asked Barzani to arrange a high-level secret meeting between American and Iranian officials in Erbil.

Iran did not rule out the possibility, but worried that Israeli forces could attempt to assassinate members of its delegation while they were in Erbil or traveling to the city. The meeting ultimately never took place.

"A key challenge for the Trump administration in current and future negotiations is making sure they are actually talking to the people who hold real power," Axios reported.

Barzani has recently signaled to the White House that he remains willing to help facilitate US-Iran negotiations, sources said.

However, Brett McGurk, former White House National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East and Africa, told Axios that the core problem in the stalled talks was not the choice of intermediary. "The issue is Iran's policy on the Strait of Hormuz, and that is not going to change for now," he said.


joze@heraldcorp.com