WASHINGTON – US Vice-President J.D. Vance will lead the US delegation for talks with Iran in Pakistan, a White House official said on April 19 – shortly after President Donald Trump said he would not make the trip.
Early in the day, Mr Trump announced he was sending negotiators to Islamabad for meetings with Tehran about ending the conflict that has raged in the Middle East, with a ceasefire soon set to expire.
The resident however said Mr Vance – who led the last round of talks with Tehran in Islamabad, but came away with no deal – would not make the trip, citing security concerns.
“It’s only because of security,” Mr Trump told ABC News. “JD’s great.”
But the White House quickly flipped the script, when asked about those comments.
Mr Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Mr Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will attend the talks, a White House official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The trio were on hand last time around on April 11-12.
Mr Trump earlier accused Iran of a “Total Violation” of the countries’ two-week ceasefire with attacks on April 18 in the Strait of Hormuz – and threatened to destroy its power plants and bridges if no deal is reached.
Mr Trump said on his Truth Social platform that he was offering Iran “a reasonable deal” and if Tehran refuses, “the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran. NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!”
“They’ll come down fast, they’ll come down easy and, if they don’t take the DEAL, it will be my Honour to do what has to be done, which should have been done to Iran, by other Presidents, for the last 47 years,” he wrote.
Washington’s envoy to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, told ABC News that he believed the new round of talks would lead to an “incredibly consequential” outcome.
The Strait of Hormuz remained closed on April 19 amid the stand-off. Iran on April 18 declared it shut again to shipping – one day after saying it would reopen the strategic waterway.
A UK maritime security agency said Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had fired at one tanker on Saturday, while security intelligence firm Vanguard Tech reported the force had threatened to “destroy” an empty cruise ship that was fleeing the Gulf.
In the third incident, the UK agency said it received a report of a vessel “being hit by an unknown projectile, which caused damage” to shipping containers but no fire.
The US-Iran ceasefire is scheduled to end on April 22. AFP
