As Vice President JD Vance boarded Air Force Two for Pakistan, he warned Iran against treating the United States as something to be “play[ed]” before the first face-to-face diplomacy in weeks aimed at ending the war. Vance, who was sent to lead mediated talks in Islamabad, told reporters that the U.S. would extend an “open hand” only if Iran negotiates “in good faith,” adding that a negotiating team would not be receptive if Iran tries to “play” the U.S.
Vance’s trip follows President Donald Trump’s decision to assign him a new, high-profile role after months in which Trump’s administration was widely viewed as leaning on other advisers for foreign policy. The Associated Press reported that Trump tasked Vance—described as having been among the more reluctant defenders of the conflict—to now help reach a resolution and prevent Trump’s threat to wipe out what the report calls the “whole civilization,” a warning Trump has made in the context of the war.
Pakistan’s role also shaped the opening moments of the talks. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told his nation in a televised address that the negotiations represent a “make-or-break moment” for both sides, as senior Iranian officials arrived in Islamabad ahead of Vance. Vance’s delegation includes Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who previously participated in three rounds of indirect talks with Iranian negotiators about U.S. concerns tied to Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic programs and its support for armed proxy groups in the Middle East.
The AP reported that Iran’s delegation for the talks was scheduled to begin Saturday and included Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Ali Akbar Ahmadian, the secretary of the Supreme National Defense Council, Central Bank Governor Abdolnasser Hemmati, and lawmakers. The delegation was received at the airport by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and other senior Pakistani government officials, signaling the importance Pakistan placed on facilitating the negotiations.
Before negotiations begin, Iran’s conditions appear to be set in public messaging. In a social media post, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said a ceasefire in Lebanon—where Israel has targeted Iran-backed Hezbollah militants—and the release of blocked Iranian assets “must be fulfilled before negotiations begin.” Qalibaf did not provide additional details in the post, but the message underscored how quickly the talks could confront a gap between Iran’s stated demands and U.S. and Israeli positions.
The most immediate friction surrounds the scope of any ceasefire. The AP reported that shortly after the White House and Iran announced a temporary ceasefire Tuesday evening, the sides clashed over its terms: Iran insisted that an end to the war in Lebanon was part of the truce, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump said the truce did not cover Lebanon and that Israeli operations there continued. At the same time, the U.S. demanded that Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping waterway that Iran had closed in response to intensifying Israeli attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Trump’s public pressure on the negotiations has matched the hard-line framing in the ceasefire disputes. In a Friday social media post, Trump said the Iranians have no “cards” except what the post described as a short-term extortion of the world by using international waterways and that “the only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!” Trump also told reporters that the strait would be reopened “with or without” Tehran’s cooperation, according to the AP report.
Economic pressures tied to shipping disruptions have added urgency to the diplomacy. The AP reported that consumer prices rose 3.3% in March from a year earlier, with the Labor Department reporting the figure Friday, and that the steep monthly jump in gas prices helped spur a sharp increase in inflation. In the same period, the central U.S. demand for reopening Hormuz has remained a central test of whether the negotiations can produce an outcome that both sides consider actionable.
For Vance, the stakes are political as well as diplomatic. The AP described the moment as the highest-stakes assignment for Vance, who in much of last year played a more background role in the Trump White House while figures such as Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio acted as frequent advisers for Trump. Trump said in a message to Vance before he left for Islamabad that he wished him luck and that Vance had “got a big thing,” while analysts cited in the AP report noted that stepping into a visible negotiating role binds Vance more tightly to the outcome if talks fail—or gives him a tangible claim if they succeed.
Although the White House provided few details about how the talks will proceed—whether they would be direct or indirect—the arrival of Vance in Islamabad marks what the AP characterized as a rare moment of high-level U.S. engagement with Iran’s government since the Islamic Revolution, when direct contact was seen in 2013 during President Barack Obama’s call with Iran’s then newly elected President Hassan Rouhani to discuss Iran’s nuclear program. As the delegations convene, the negotiations face a steep climb, with each side tying its core demands—Lebanon ceasefire terms, asset issues, and the Strait of Hormuz—to the question of whether the other is prepared to compromise in good faith.