Negotiations in Islamabad
Vice President J.D. Vance is on his way to Islamabad, Pakistan, to engage in negotiations with Iran, coinciding with a two-week ceasefire. This trip represents a significant chapter for the 41-year-old vice president and his administration.
Vance took off from Joint Base Andrews on Air Force One Friday morning, sharing a few words with reporters before his departure. He expressed optimism about the upcoming negotiations this weekend.
“As the president has indicated, if Iran is ready to negotiate sincerely, we’re here to assist. However, if they choose to confront us, they may find our negotiating team less accommodating,” he mentioned.
“Our aim is to negotiate positively. The president has provided clear guidelines, so we’ll see how that goes.”
White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt announced earlier this week that Vance would lead the negotiations, accompanied by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. She noted that discussions are set to kick off Saturday morning local time.
President Trump had declared a two-week ceasefire on Tuesday, yet Leavitt emphasized that it hinges on the “free, safe, and immediate reopening” of the Strait of Hormuz.
“The president was quite straightforward when he mentioned that this ceasefire is contingent upon the prompt, unrestricted reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. That’s pretty clear and should be taken seriously,” she remarked.
Leavitt further stated that the strait should be accessible “without limitations, including tolls.”
However, on Thursday, President Trump voiced his frustration regarding Iran’s actions concerning the strait.
“Iran is doing a very bad, some would say disgraceful, job of allowing oil to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. That’s not what we agreed on!” the president asserted.
He emphasized on Friday that the sole reason he hadn’t initiated military action against Iranian infrastructure earlier in the week was for the sake of negotiations.
“The Iranians don’t seem to grasp that their leverage is quite limited, relying primarily on short-term gains from international waterways,” he commented. “The sole reason they remain unscathed right now is because of these negotiations!”
Another point of contention regarding the ceasefire involves Israel’s military actions against Hezbollah in Lebanon, which Vance pointed out was never part of the agreement with Iran.
“I genuinely believe there’s quite a bit of poor negotiation happening, a lot of misinformation, stemming from real misunderstandings,” Vance explained. “The Iranians may have thought the ceasefire covered Lebanon, but that was never promised. We didn’t make any such commitment.”
He added that it would be “unwise” for Iran to let talks concerning Lebanon fall apart, as it’s ultimately their decision to make.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Thursday that Israel plans to initiate discussions with Lebanon “as soon as possible” to address the disarmament of Hezbollah and pursue peace negotiations.
