US Vice President JD Vance’s Islamabad trip paused after Iran failed to respond to negotiation terms
Raising fears of renewed conflict if talks don’t resume
Washington signals readiness for both diplomacy and military escalation, keeping pressure on Tehran
US Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Islamabad, for peace talks with Iran to end the seven-week war, has been put on hold after Tehran failed to respond to American negotiating positions, local media reported on Tuesday.
Vance was scheduled to depart Tuesday morning for Islamabad, where talks were set to resume on Wednesday, the same day the fragile cease-fire between the United States and Iran is set to expire. Without an Iranian response, the diplomatic process is effectively paused, though the trip has not been cancelled, a US official was quoted as saying in a New York Times report.
The trip could be back on at a moment's notice if Iran's negotiators respond in a way that President Donald Trump deems acceptable. US officials are also looking for a clear signal that Iran's negotiators have been fully empowered to reach an agreement, the report said.
The Washington Post attributed the delay to additional policy meetings involving Vance at the White House.
Trump accused Iran of violating the ceasefire numerous times in a post on Truth Social early Tuesday. In a separate interview with CNBC, he said the United States is going to end up with a great deal from the negotiations. I think they have no choice. We've taken out their navy, we've taken out their air force, we've taken out their leaders, Trump said.
When asked whether the US would resume bombing if a deal is not reached by Wednesday, Trump said that he expects to be bombing, because that is a better attitude to go in with. He added that the military is raring to go.
As of midday Tuesday (US time), Vance and White House envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were still in Washington, Axios reported. A US government plane scheduled to take Witkoff and Kushner from Miami to Islamabad via Europe on Tuesday morning never departed — instead taking off around noon for Washington.
