Vance's Pakistan trip postponed indefinitely as Iran boycotts peace talks
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Vice President Vance's planned trip to Islamabad on Tuesday was delayed — then postponed indefinitely — after Iran refused to participate in a new round of peace talks, according to U.S. officials and sources with knowledge of the situation.
The latest: Iran's IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency reported that Tehran's negotiating team has informed the U.S. through Pakistani mediators that it will not be in Islamabad on Wednesday and sees no prospect for participation in the talks.
Why it matters: With the ceasefire on the verge of expiring, every hour Vance spends in Washington is an hour closer to a resumption of hostilities. Iranian leadership ultimately decided not to attend as long as the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports continues.
State of play: President Trump told Bloomberg Monday the ceasefire runs until Wednesday evening, but Pakistan's information minister put the deadline at Tuesday around 8pm ET. Either way, Trump made clear Tuesday morning he doesn't want to extend it.
- "We don't have that much time ... Iran can make themselves into a strong nation again if they make a deal," Trump told CNBC.
- "I expect to be bombing because I think that's a better attitude to go in with," he said when asked what happens if there's no deal by Tuesday night. "But we're ready to go. I mean, the military is raring to go."
As of Tuesday afternoon, Vance was still in Washington. A White House official said "additional policy meetings are taking place at the White House today in which the Vice President will participate."
- Rather than depart for Islamabad, White House envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveled on a government plane from Miami to D.C. on Tuesday for meetings at the White House.
Driving the news: Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar urged both sides Tuesday to extend the ceasefire and return to the table, telling the U.S. Chargé d'Affaires in Islamabad that the U.S. should "give dialogue and diplomacy a chance."
- Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Islamabad was still waiting for a formal response from Tehran on whether its delegation would attend. "A decision from Iran to attend the talks before the end of the two-week ceasefire is critical," he wrote on X.
- "Pakistan has made sincere efforts to convince the Iranian leadership to participate in the second round of talks and these efforts continue."
The other side: Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said Tuesday afternoon that no decision had been made on whether to send a delegation to Islamabad.
- He claimed that the U.S. naval blockade calls into question the seriousness of any negotiations.
Behind the scenes: The White House spent all of Monday waiting for a signal from Tehran that it would send its negotiating team to Islamabad.
- A source with knowledge of the discussions said the Iranians were stalling amid apparent pressure from the Revolutionary Guards to hold a firmer line: no talks without an end to the U.S. blockade.
- Pakistani, Egyptian and Turkish mediators spent all day Monday urging the Iranians to come to the table.
The Iranian team was waiting for a green light from the supreme leader.
- Late Monday, signs emerged that Iran had decided to participate, and Vance, Witkoff and Kushner were preparing to leave first thing Tuesday morning, sources said.
- But around 7am Tuesday, the situation appeared to shift — the Iranians were still stalling, and the departure was postponed.
