Vice President JD Vance was expected to board a plane and lead a U.S. negotiating team in talks in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, but was unexpectedly called back to the White House on Tuesday amid uncertainty over Iran’s participation.
CNN’s Alayna Treene reported that Vance will not travel to Islamabad as planned and will instead attend policy meetings at the White House. Sources told Treene it remains unclear whether the trip will happen at all.
“We don’t know if this trip is definitely off,” she told The Situation Room anchors Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown. “All we do know is that it is definitely delayed and that we should expect to see now the vice president at the White House for meetings today, not leaving this morning on that plane as we had previously reported.”
Vance previously traveled to Pakistan earlier this month to lead talks in Islamabad alongside special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner. According to the vice president, Iranian officials refused to agree to the key American demand — an “affirmative commitment” that Iran would not pursue nuclear weapons.
Peace Talks Failed to Produce a Deal
The earlier meeting ended without a breakthrough agreement.
“The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement,” Vance said at the time. “And I think that’s bad news for Iran, much more than it’s bad news for the United States of America.”
Since the U.S. began blocking ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports, U.S. Central Command stated Tuesday that American forces had instructed 28 ships to either turn around or return to port.
A U.S. official declined to confirm whether any ships had successfully entered Iranian ports. However, the official stated that any departing vessels would likely be unable to pass through the blockade in the Gulf of Oman.
Ceasefire Nearing Expiration
The two-week ceasefire between the U.S., Israel, and Iran is set to expire soon, but uncertainty remains over whether Iranian officials will attend the Islamabad negotiations.
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar stated that, as of 7:30 p.m. Pakistani time (10:30 a.m. Eastern Time), a formal response from Iran confirming participation in the peace talks had not yet been received.
However, Tarar emphasized that Pakistani mediators remained in “constant touch” with Iranian officials and described the negotiations as “critical.”
Iranian President Criticizes Negotiations
In a troubling sign for diplomacy, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian criticized both President Trump and the proposed negotiations in a post on X.
“The level of understanding and comprehension of the requesters from Iran regarding their presence in Islamabad is even lower than Trump’s level of understanding and comprehension…!”
Meanwhile, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker, who leads the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, met Tuesday with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar to discuss diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the conflict.
According to Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dar:
“underscored Pakistan’s consistent emphasis on dialogue and diplomacy as the only viable means to address challenges and achieve lasting regional peace and stability.”
He also urged both Washington and Tehran to extend the ceasefire and continue diplomatic engagement.
Trump Opposes Extending Ceasefire
President Donald Trump has indicated he does not support extending the temporary ceasefire, instead pushing for a permanent agreement.
“I don’t want to do that. We don’t have that much time,” Trump told CNBC regarding extending the two-week ceasefire, which is expected to end Wednesday.
He added:
“Iran can get themselves on a very good footing if they make a deal. They can make themselves into a strong nation again, a wonderful nation again.”
