US Vice President JD Vance has taken a leading role in Washington’s efforts to broker peace with Iran, nearly a month into the ongoing conflict, according to US media reports on Friday.

An Axios report says Vance has been actively engaged in behind-the-scenes diplomacy, holding multiple discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and coordinating with Gulf allies, while maintaining indirect communication channels with Iranian officials.

The White House reportedly views Vance as a central negotiator due to his senior position and his skepticism toward prolonged military engagements, making him a suitable envoy for sensitive negotiations.

Vance’s efforts include coordination with countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, focusing on de-escalation, potential peace talks, and regional security.

US President Donald Trump formally confirmed Vance’s role on Thursday, noting that he is working alongside Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on ongoing negotiations and will brief officials on developments regarding Iran.

White House officials told Axios that Vance’s seniority and opposition to extended foreign conflicts make him a more appealing interlocutor for Iran than other envoys, with Witkoff recommending him as the lead negotiator. “If the Iranians can’t strike a deal with Vance, they don’t get a deal. He’s the best they’re gonna get,” a senior administration official said.

While Vance assumes a larger diplomatic role, Witkoff and Kushner continue handling negotiations. Reports of a confrontation between Vance and Netanyahu were dismissed by US and Israeli sources as inaccurate.

According to the report, Vance initially expressed skepticism about the war’s duration, objectives, and resource impact but supported a strategy of overwhelming force once Trump decided to proceed. Vance remains aligned with Israel while carefully navigating differences between US and Israeli objectives, advisers said.

“He has his own views, but he is going to work according to Trump’s instructions and try to achieve an outcome that the president likes,” a source close to Vance added.

U.S. paper currency will bear ‌President Donald Trump’s signature starting this summer, the first time a sitting president has signed American money, the Treasury Department said on Thursday.

The redesigned notes, planned to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence, will also for the first time in 165 years drop the signature of the ​U.S. treasurer, who reports to the Treasury Secretary and oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the U.S. ​Mint and other Treasury functions, Reuters reported.

The first $100 bills with Trump’s signature and that of U.S. Treasury Secretary ⁠Scott Bessent will be printed in June, followed by other bills in subsequent months. The new bills may take several ​weeks to circulate through banks.

The Treasury is still producing notes bearing the signatures of former President Joe Biden’s Treasury secretary, Janet ​Yellen, and former Treasurer Lynn Malerba.

Malerba will be the last of an unbroken line of treasurers whose signatures have appeared on U.S. federal currency since 1861, when the U.S. government first issued it.

The signature change is the latest effort by the Trump administration and its allies to put the ​president’s name on buildings, institutions, government programs, warships and coins. A federal arts panel, whose members Trump appointed, approved last ​week the design for a commemorative gold coin with Trump’s image.

Bessent said in a statement that the move was appropriate for the U.S. 250th ‌anniversary, given ⁠strong U.S. economic growth and financial stability during Trump’s second term, read the report.

“There is no more powerful way to recognize the historic achievements of our great country and President Donald J. Trump than U.S. dollar bills bearing his name, and it is only appropriate that this historic currency be issued at the Semiquincentennial,” Bessent said.

An effort for a circulating $1 Trump coin was set back by ​laws prohibiting the depiction of ​living individuals on U.S. coins.

A ⁠statute governing the printing of Federal Reserve notes gives the Treasury broad discretion to change designs to guard against counterfeiting. The law requires keeping certain elements, including the words “In God We ​Trust,” and only allows portraits of deceased individuals.

The overall designs of bills will not change, ​except for Trump’s ⁠signature replacing the Treasurer’s, Treasury officials said. A mock-up of the $100 bill with Trump’s signature was not immediately available.

Malerba, the former treasurer, declined comment on the Trump administration’s move.

Her predecessor, Jovita Carranza, who served as treasurer in Trump’s first term, called the change “a powerful ⁠symbol of ​American resilience, the enduring strength of free enterprise and the promise of ​continued greatness.”

The current treasurer, Brandon Beach, whose name has not appeared on the currency, also issued a supportive statement, saying Trump was the architect of a “golden ​age economic revival.”

President Donald Trump will hit Iran harder if Tehran fails to accept that ​the country has been “defeated militarily,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said ‌on Wednesday.

“President Trump does not bluff and he is prepared to unleash hell. Iran should not miscalculate again,” Leavitt told reporters in a press briefing.

“If Iran fails to accept the reality ​of the current moment, if they fail to understand that they have ​been defeated militarily, and will continue to be, President Trump will ⁠ensure they are hit harder than they have ever been hit before,” she ​said.

As the joint U.S.-Israeli war on Iran entered its fourth week, there have ​been efforts by multiple countries such as Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt to mediate.

Iran is still reviewing a U.S. proposal to end the war, despite an initial response that was negative, ​a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday, indicating that Tehran had so ​far stopped short of rejecting it outright.

Talks with Iran were still under way, Leavitt said. “Talks ‌continue. ⁠They are productive, as the president said on Monday, and they continue to be,” she added.

Citing unnamed sources, media outlets on Tuesday reported that Washington sent Tehran a 15-point plan on ending the war. Leavitt said on Wednesday that elements of ​the reports were not ​fully accurate, but ⁠she did not provide specifics.

“The White House never confirmed that full plan. There are elements of truth to it, but some ​of the stories I read were not entirely factual, so ​I am ⁠not going to negotiate on behalf of the president here at the podium,” Leavitt said.

Global equity markets regained some ground while oil prices dipped on Wednesday after the ⁠reports ​about the plan, with investors hoping for an end ​to a war that has disrupted global energy supplies and raised inflation concerns.