JD Vance-led US delegation lands in Pakistan for high-stakes negotiations with Iran

US Vice President JD Vance-led delegation landed in Pakistan on Satuday to negotiate a peace deal with Iran and find a resolution to the war that began six weeks ago. A journey that began with a warning to Iran not to “play” America has concluded in Islamabad, setting the tone for high-stakes peace talks with the mediation of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff Asmir Munir.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday received the U.S. delegation lead by U.S. Vice President JD Vance.

Also read: War victims' portraits, blood-soaked school bags: Iranian negotiator's companions on flight to Pakistan




President Donald Trump has tasked Vance, a member of his inner circle who has seemed to be the most reluctant defender of the six-week-old Iran conflict to now find a middle way. His recent remarks, ahead of the peace talks, set the tone for the negotiations, wherein he said that the only reason the Iranians were alive was to negotiate a deal.

"The Iranians don't seem to realize they have no cards, other than a short term extortion of the World by using International Waterways. The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!" he said. Vice President on Friday warned Iran not to “play” the US as he headed overseas for negotiations aimed at ending the war.

“As the US president said, if the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we’re certainly willing to extend an open hand. If they’re going to try to play us, they’re going to find that the negotiating team is not that receptive,” Vance told the media before boarding his plane to Islamabad.

Also read: Pakistan in the room of ceasefire but not running the game



Vance, who has long been skeptical of foreign military interventions and outspoken about the prospect of sending troops into open-ended conflict with Iran, had set off Friday to lead mediated talks in Islamabad.

The accompanying envoys, Witkoff and Kushner, also took part in three rounds of indirect talks with Iran aimed at settling America's concerns about Tehran's nuclear and ballistic weapons programs and its support for armed proxy groups in the Middle East.

What makes the Islamabad Talks 'historic'?

The arrival of Vice President Vance for negotiations marks a rare moment of high-level US government engagement with the Iranian government. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the most direct contact had been when President Barack Obama, in September 2013, called newly elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to discuss Iran's nuclear program.

Trump scrapped the nuclear deal in 2018 during his ‌first term in the President's office. That same ⁠year, Iran's then-Supreme ⁠Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the war six weeks ago, banned further direct talks between US and Iranian officials.

Ahead of Vance's departure on Friday, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Vance, Witkoff, Kushner and Secretary of State Marco Rubio "have always been collaborating on these discussions" and said Trump was optimistic that a lasting deal can be reached during the two-week ceasefire.

"President Trump has a proven track record of achieving good deals on behalf of the United States and the American people, and he will only accept one that puts America first," Kelly said, as reported by AP.

The White House did not release the details of other negotiators besides Vance, Witkoff and Kushner, but Kelly said officials from the National Security Council, State Department and Pentagon "will also play a supportive role."

The war truce, announced early on Wednesday, was followed by two sides finding themselves at odds over the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

As a crucial part of the pact, Iran insisted that an end to the Israeli attacks in Lebanon was part of the ceasefire. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump said the truce did not cover Lebanon, and the Israeli operations would continue.