Iranian Senior Advisor Warns Resumed U.S.-Iran Peace Talks Could Take Three Decades

Iranian Senior Advisor Warns Resumed U.S.-Iran Peace Talks Could Take Three Decades

Fox News senior strategic analyst Retired General Jack Keane examines reports that Vice President JD Vance contacted an Iranian hardliner following the President’s instructions. Keane argues that Tehran shows no serious intent in reaching a deal and would not adhere to any resulting agreement.

Iran’s top security official, who reportedly received a letter from Vice President JD Vance regarding the resumption of peace talks, warned during a resurfaced interview that negotiations with Tehran could drag on for decades, urging both sides to remain prepared for conflict.

Mohsen Rezaei, a former commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), currently serves as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and functions as a key aide to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. He also played a pivotal role in shaping Iran’s military strategy during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War.

That eight-year conflict concluded after Iran’s then-supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, accepted a United Nations-brokered ceasefire, an agreement he famously characterized as drinking from a “poisoned chalice.”

Senior Iranian general Mohsen Rezaei issues a direct threat against President Donald Trump as the U.S. repositions aircraft carrier amid rising tensions with Tehran, according to reports.

(Ayoub Ghaderi/YJC/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS)

In his 2006 interview with the Iranian publication Baztab, Rezaei stated that “a ceasefire means an unfinished war.” The full English translation of the interview is archived at George Washington University’s National Security Archive.

When asked whether both sides would remain in their current positions and enter talks, Rezaei replied: “Yes. Negotiations can take 30 to 40 years, and during that time, both Iran and Iraq should be prepared to fight.”

More than two decades after issuing this warning, Washington has reportedly sought direct engagement with Rezaei, a central figure in Iran’s current military leadership.

Vance sent Rezaei a letter proposing renewed peace talks between the United States and Iran in October, according to reporting by the Wall Street Journal.

Iran confirmed receipt of a letter from Vance but stated it had not responded, according to Iranian state media. The semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported that Iran was awaiting U.S. compliance with its conditions, warning that “any position that contradicts this framework is unacceptable.”

In June, President Donald Trump posted a warning on Truth Social that Iran had delayed too long to reach terms and would ultimately “pay the price,” while on Monday, he indicated that Iran desires a deal but warned that another U.S. strike could be roughly five times larger than previous strikes.

Trump stated during a C-SPAN interview on “Washington Journal Primetime”: “We could knock it out fast, or we could knock it out over a short, not a long period of time.”

Regarding the current timeframe, Trump stated: “I can tell you that Iran would like to make a deal, and we’ll find out whether that’ll happen.”

Rezaei, however, has maintained a defiant stance toward Washington. In a post on X on Nov. 9, he wrote: “The war on Iran has already wrecked the US government,” before adding that “Washington flails like a desperate gambler.”

Following the November 3 U.S. midterm elections, Rezaei claimed that Iran had achieved military and political victories over Washington.

He warned of a “devastating response” to an additional attack and declared it was time for Washington to surrender.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) generals and commanders, Mohsen Rezaei (2nd L), Ali Fadavi (3rd L), Ahmad Vahidi (2nd R), and Hassan Hassanzadeh (R) attend a memorial ceremony for IRGC commanders, nuclear scientists, and civilians killed in the Iran-Israel war at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque in downtown Tehran, Iran, on July 2, 2025.

(Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Rezaei also rejected reports of ongoing U.S.-Iran negotiations or any planned meeting in Qatar, accusing Washington of disseminating false claims to alleviate economic pressure and lower oil prices. He reiterated that Tehran would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz unless its seven conditions were met.

Rezaei has spent over four decades in Iran’s defense establishment, commanding the IRGC from 1981 to 1997 and overseeing operations during the Iran-Iraq War.

In the 2006 Baztab interview, Rezaei detailed how Iranian leaders differentiate their public rhetoric from actual military strategy.

Although Khomeini and other Iranian officials called for fighting until Saddam is toppled or until the nuisance is eradicated, Rezaei noted that Tehran’s actual strategy was to fight only up to a decisive victory.

At the time, Rezaei suggested that Iran’s battlefield gains were intended to strengthen Tehran’s negotiating position rather than achieve total conquest.

“The world did not pay attention to the slogans,” Rezaei said in the interview, adding that foreign governments and intelligence agencies focused primarily on Iranian leaders’ actions and diplomatic positions.

Rezaei also noted that Iran had struggled to translate battlefield gains into diplomatic victories due to a lack of international alliances and influence at the United Nations.

Commanders and members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps meet with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran, on Aug. 17, 2023.

(Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Reuters)

Interpol approved an Argentine request for a Red Notice against Rezaei in 2007 in connection with the Buenos Aires bombing.

The Trump administration first sanctioned Rezaei on January 10, 2020, under an executive order targeting senior Iranian officials appointed by the supreme leader.

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