RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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In mid-May, U.S. negotiators trying to reach a deal with Iran to end the war ran into a problem: They couldn't tell if the people across the table actually spoke for the country's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
So Trump administration officials did something unconventional — they went around Iran's negotiators and reached out directly to IRGC leadership. The person they tapped for the backchannel was Nechirvan Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan region in Iraq, who had something very few others do: the trust of both U.S. and IRGC leaders.
Why it matters: The episode, which was detailed by three sources with direct knowledge and has not been previously reported, shows how tricky it's been for the U.S. to negotiate with a country where Washington isn't sure who exactly is in charge. The U.S. and Iran did reach a memorandum of understanding, but it quickly collapsed.
The Trump administration's key problem today and in any future negotiation will be to make sure it's talking to the people who are actually calling the shots. That also means finding mediators who are trusted by both the White House and the Iranian regime.
The big picture: The war upended Iran's leadership. The assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other senior political leaders — and the 40 days of fighting that followed — dramatically strengthened the IRGC's grip on the levers of power, including national security and foreign policy decision-making.
Uncertainty surrounding new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei's condition during the first few weeks of the war and his absence from public view further strengthened IRGC commanders.
Flashback: After an April 8 ceasefire and a summit in Islamabad days later, the U.S. and Iran tried to negotiate an end to the war.
In early May, the White House felt it was closing in on a deal, but Iran delayed its response for more than 10 days.
White House negotiators started to think that Iranian negotiators — Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi — were not empowered to cut a deal and were being overruled by the IRGC.
Driving the news: The White House realized it needed a backchannel to IRGC leadership.
Around May 10, then-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard called Barzani.
According to two sources with direct knowledge of the call, Gabbard told Barzani that the administration thought he could help get in touch with the commander of the IRGC, Gen. Ahmad Vahidi.
During the Iran-Iraq war, Barzani lived in Iran and studied at the University of Tehran. He is fluent in Farsi and has personal relationships with many senior members of the Iranian regime, including top members of the IRGC, according to one of the sources.
"Nechirvan Barzani is a pragmatic problem solver. He's respected across the region. He knows nearly everyone in Tehran as well as Washington. That's who you call in a pinch," Brett McGurk, who has served as a Middle East adviser to four presidents, said in an interview.
The source said Gabbard made clear to Barzani that she was making the call with the approval of President Trump and Vice President Vance.
Gabbard told Barzani the White House wanted to know if Vahidi and the IRGC leadership were on board with what Ghalibaf and Araghchi had been negotiating or whether they had other ideas or demands, the source said.
Gabbard noted the mediators couldn't reach Vahidi to clarify that.
Behind the scenes: Barzani agreed to Gabbard's request. He reached out to his contacts at the IRGC and said he had a message from the Trump administration.
"But I want to talk directly to Gen. Vahidi," Barzani stressed, according to one of the sources.
The Iranians agreed. On May 14, an IRGC official arrived in Barzani's office in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, carrying an encrypted phone to conduct a secure call.
Barzani asked Vahidi if he was aligned with the Iranian negotiators. The Iranian general said he was. "I fully support them and this is also the position of the IRGC. We prefer to solve this crisis through negotiations," Vahidi said, according to a source with direct knowledge.
Three sources, including a White House official, said Barzani called Gabbard right after his conversation with Vahidi and briefed her on the Iranian response. Gabbard then briefed the White House.
The intrigue: After receiving the Iranian response, the Trump administration came back with another proposal, according to one of the sources with knowledge of the backchannel talks.
The U.S. wanted Barzani to host secret talks between senior U.S. and Iranian negotiators in Erbil.
Barzani spoke to the Iranians again and passed on the message. The Iranians didn't rule it out, but were concerned about their security, the source said.
They believed Israeli intelligence had many assets in Iraqi Kurdistan and were concerned the Israelis would try to assassinate them in Erbil or while they traveled there and back.
The Erbil meeting never materialized.
State of play: The Pakistani and Qatari mediators continue to exchange messages between the U.S. and Iran but without any significant progress, regional sources with knowledge of the matter said.
Some of those sources believe the Pakistanis are giving more optimistic readouts than the talks justify in an effort to create a sense of momentum that could break the stalemate.
What to watch: Barzani has recently sent messages to the White House offering to help restart U.S.-Iran negotiations, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.
McGurk said the issue is not the mediator. "It's Iran's policy on the Strait," he said, "and that's unlikely to change anytime soon."
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