JD Vance to lead US delegation in Pakistan if Iran agrees to talks | US-Israel war on Iran
As the deadline for the current ceasefire approaches, JD Vance is expected to fly to Islamabad at the head of the US diplomatic delegation on Tuesday if Iran agrees to advance talks in Pakistan’s capital.
The US vice president will travel with Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner; But Iran’s president warned that a “deep historical distrust” of the United States remains.
Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran was concerned about “unconstructive and contradictory signals from American officials” and concluded that they amounted to an effort by the country to surrender. “Iranians do not bow to force,” he said.
But a senior Iranian official told Reuters news agency that Tehran was “positively reviewing” its participation, amid reports that if Vance joins, parliamentary speaker Mohammed Bagher Galibaf would lead the delegation.
Ghalibaf later said Iran would not agree to negotiations with the United States while under threat, adding that “we are ready to reveal new cards on the battlefield” in his post on X earlier Tuesday. He also accused Trump of trying “in his own imagination to turn this negotiating table into a table of surrender or to legitimize renewed warmongering.”
While Tehran called for an end to the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump reiterated his demand that Iran should never be allowed to build nuclear weapons and even said he would be willing to meet with Iranian leaders in person.
Earlier, the US president had stirred up the situation by telling the New York Post that Vance and his team were “leaving now” and that he expected them to arrive in Islamabad that evening.
That was quickly corrected by U.S. officials, who said that although there was some discussion of Vance leaving on Monday, the vice president was actually expected to leave on Tuesday morning if talks were ongoing.
A second round of high-stakes discussions to end the war, which began with US and Israeli bombings in late February, could take place on Wednesday, with the threat of renewed conflict in the background if they continue.
Trump said he thought the two-week ceasefire with Iran would now end “Wednesday evening Washington time” and would extend the break for another 24 hours to allow the critical meeting in Islamabad to take place.
In an interview with Bloomberg, he added that it was “unlikely for me to extend the deadline any further” and indicated that the bombing could resume shortly — but in the same interview the president also said, “I’m not going to rush to make a bad deal. We’ve got all the time in the world.”
Vance led the U.S. team during unsuccessful 21-hour talks with Iran earlier in the month; These talks collapsed after Iran refused to accept US demands to end nuclear enrichment and hand over 440 kg of highly enriched uranium.
The Iranians have stated that there continues to be a trust deficit between them and the United States and that they want assurance that they will not be attacked again if a final agreement is reached. Although Iran was heavily bombed during the five-week joint US-Israeli operation, Tehran’s leadership does not believe it has been defeated.
Pakistan has been preparing for possible talks since Sunday, implementing security measures and suspending public transport in the capital. The Islamabad electricity board has also promised that power outages will be suspended in the city while negotiations continue.
Power outages lasting six to seven hours a day have become commonplace in cities across Pakistan as the country grapples with oil and gas shortages caused by the two closures of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran and the United States.
Trump had imposed a blockade of Iranian ports in response to Iran’s decision to charge fees to commercial ships passing through the strategic waterway, and on Sunday the US military seized an Iranian-flagged container ship trying to cross the border; This raised concerns that an escalation of hostilities would prevent the resumption of peace talks.
US central command said the Touska was seized after its crew ignored six-hour warnings. Its engines were disabled by fire from a US destroyer and it was later captured by sailors from the USS Tripoli, who arrived by helicopter and was tied to the merchant ship by rope.
Although Iran briefly lifted its own blockade on Friday, it reimposed it on Saturday after the United States did not lift the counter-blockade. On Saturday, a tanker in the region was attacked by Iranian Revolutionary Guards and a second container ship was hit by an unknown projectile.
Commercial shipping in the Bosphorus has once again almost come to a halt. After 18 ships passed on Saturday, three tankers passed on Monday, and the price of Brent crude oil increased by $5 on Monday, reaching over $95; This reflects the renewed maritime danger.
The US State Department said Israel and Lebanon will hold second round of ambassador-level talks in Washington on Thursday; These were the first talks between the two countries since the 10-day ceasefire announced last week.
Israel also told residents of southern Lebanon to stay away from the area next to the border and warned people not to approach the Litani River area, as it seeks to consolidate its military control of the region while the ceasefire continues.
A map published by the country’s military on social media marked a red line covering an area 5 to 10 kilometers from the border along 21 villages in the south.
