Vance warns Iran not to ‘play’ the US as he departs for peace talks in Pakistan |
WASHINGTON (AP) — US Vice President JD Vance on Friday warned Iran not to “play” the US as he headed to Pakistan for high-stakes negotiations aimed at ending their war.
US President Donald Trump has tasked the member of his inner circle who has seemed to be the most reluctant defender of the conflict with Iran to now find a resolution to the war that began six weeks ago and stave off the US president’s astonishing threat to wipe out its “whole civilization.”
Israel, which launched the military campaign against Iran jointly with the US six weeks ago, is not represented at the talks. Host Pakistan has no diplomatic ties with Israel and does not recognize its sovereignty.
The ceasefire declared by Trump on Tuesday night came with core declared goals of the war unfulfilled, including ensuring that Iran does not attain nuclear weapons, destroying its missile program, and creating the conditions for the Iranian public to overthrow the regime.
Vance, who has long been skeptical of foreign military interventions and outspoken about the prospect of sending troops into open-ended conflicts, set off Friday to lead mediated talks with Iran in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.
An Iranian delegation has already arrived in Islamabad, the Wall Street Journal reported, saying the Iranian team was being headed by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
There was very heavy security across Islamabad on Friday, with the city said to be under a lockdown.
Boarding Air Force Two on his way to Pakistan, the vice president said, “We’re looking forward to the negotiation. I think it’s gonna be positive. We’ll, of course, see.”
He cited Trump in saying, “If the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we’re certainly willing to extend the open hand.” But he added, “If they’re gonna try and play us, then they’re gonna find that the negotiating team is not that receptive.”
Vance also said that Trump “gave us some pretty clear guidelines” on how talks should go, but he didn’t elaborate. The vice president did not take questions from reporters traveling with him.
Vance’s trip comes as a tenuous, temporary ceasefire appears to be on the precipice of collapsing. The chasm between Iran’s public demands and those from the US and its partner Israel seems irreconcilable. And in the US, where Vance might ask voters in two years’ time to make him the next president, there is growing political and economic pressure to wrap it up.
Vance is joined by Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who took part in three rounds of indirect talks with Iranian negotiators aimed at settling US concerns about Tehran’s nuclear and........