US Vice President JD Vance will not lead the American delegation for a second round talks with Iran in Pakistan, President Donald Trump told ABC News on Sunday. The first round, held last weekend, yielded no results and Vance — generally considered much less excited than Trump about US “interventions” such as the Iran war — was trolled for likening Iran’s demands on uranium-enrichment for nuclear energy to his wife’s “right to skydive”.
Trump cited security concerns to say Vance won’t be going, just a bit after top US officials were reported by news agencies as saying Vance would make the trip to Islamabad. Earlier in the day, both the US envoy to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, and energy secretary Chris Wright indicated that Vance would lead the round of negotiations in Islamabad from Monday.
“It’s only because of security,” Trump told ABC News of the reason Vance is not making the trip. “JD’s great,” he added.
This meant, for now, Trump’s two special envoys will be going: his fellow businessmen-friend Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner. They were also part of Vance-led talks earlier this month where the US insisted that Iran give up its rights to enrich nuclear fuel. Iran has said the uranium is for nuclear-power sovereignty, and not a bomb.
Fate of US-Iran next round of talks
Iran did not immediately confirm the talks but its chief negotiator, parliament speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, said in an interview aired on state television late Saturday that “there will be no retreat in the field of diplomacy”, while acknowledging a wide gap remained between the sides.
Pakistani authorities have begun tightening security in Islamabad, Reuters reported. A regional official involved in the efforts was quoted as saying that mediators were “finalising preparations” and US advance security teams were “already on the ground”.
The two-week ceasefire agreed by the US and Iran on April 8 ends on April 22.
After the first round of talks led by Vance went on for 21 hours but failed to reach a deal, Pakistan had re-launched its diplomatic efforts for another round of talks in Islamabad.
Since April 15, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye while military boss Field Marshal Asim Munir spent three days in Iran to create a consensus on contentious issues.
A standoff over the Strait of Hormuz — a key waterway that remains a sticking point — escalated on Saturday as Iran fired on ships attempting to cross the narrow waterway, while US also pushed ahead with its own blockade of the Iranian ports.
Trump slammed the Iranian forces and said they had violated the truce. “We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran. NO MORE MR NICE GUY,” the US President wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
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