Claim
The Wall Street Journal said President Trump ordered the initiative, while Trump denied being behind it
Attributed to The Wall Street Journal
Evidence
Searches found coverage by The Statesman, Israel National News and mediabias.news reporting that the WSJ said Vice President JD Vance sent a letter to Iran's Mohsen Rezaei at Trump's direction, with Trump kept informed. The Statesman says Trump denied directing Vance to restart negotiations when asked at Joint Base Andrews. He said the outreach was about medical supplies. The Statesman cites Bloomberg as reporting that Trump acknowledged approving Vance's contact. I did not find the original WSJ article or any Reuters, AFP, Bellingcat or EUvsDisinfo fact-check. The WSJ report and Trump's denial are therefore documented only through secondary outlets.
Supporting sources
Assessment
Several secondary outlets consistently report both the WSJ account and Trump's denial, but I could not open the primary WSJ article, and Trump's later acknowledgment that he approved the contact adds nuance.
Confidence
Some independent corroboration was found, but it isn't yet conclusive.
Timeline
Oct 29, 2026, 9:34 AM UTC
LikelyInitial assessment.
First observed Oct 29, 2026, 9:34 AM UTC · Last reviewed Oct 29, 2026, 9:34 AM UTC