Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who last week was targeted by US sanctions, received a "surprise" invitation last month to meet President Donald Trump at the White House, the New Yorker reported.
The magazine quoted unnamed US and Iranian sources as saying that Republican Senator Rand Powell and his adviser Doug Stafford met Zarif in mid-July in New York on the sidelines of Zarif's visit to the United Nations.
During their meeting, Paul suggested to the Iranian official to present his ideas on how to end the impasse on Trump personally.
New Yorker said Paul, a member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, had received permission from the president to propose to Zarif a meeting at the Oval Office.
Trump said last month that he had allowed Paul to negotiate with Iran on easing tensions in the Gulf region, adding that if other Senate members asked him to engage in similar talks with the Iranians, he might say yes, depending on who those members were.
According to the magazine, Zarif responded to the senator that the decision to accept or reject this invitation is taking place in Tehran, expressing concern that this interview is just a session to take pictures to no avail.
Washington has stepped up pressure on the Iranian regime by imposing sanctions on the foreign minister recently, which Paul criticized when he wrote in a tweet "imposing sanctions on diplomats weaken diplomacy."