Vice President J.D. Vance is expected to depart for Pakistan on Tuesday to take part in a new round of negotiations with Iran mediated by Islamabad, the news site Axios reported, citing sources.
The report followed conflicting signals from Washington about the timing of the trip. On Monday, President Donald Trump said the U.S. delegation, led by Vance, was already en route to Pakistan. U.S. media outlets later reported that Vance had not yet departed.
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Pakistani soldiers secure the area where the talks are expected to take place in Islamabad
(Photo: Aamir QURESHI / AFP)
However, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is leading contacts with the United States on a potential agreement to end the war, criticized Trump in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. He did not address the planned talks in Pakistan.
“Trump, by imposing a siege and violating the ceasefire, seeks to turn the negotiating table — in his imagination — into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering,” Ghalibaf wrote. “We do not accept negotiations under threats, and in recent weeks we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield.”
An Iranian official who spoke with Reuters on Tuesday afternoon said Pakistan, acting as mediator, is making “positive efforts” to bring an end to the U.S. blockade of Iran’s ports — a blockade Tehran says violates the terms of the temporary ceasefire.
A Pakistani official said that if the ceasefire is not extended, it is set to expire at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, which corresponds to 3 a.m. Israel time early Thursday.