Washington, Apr 21 (PTI): US Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Islamabad, for peace talks with Iran to end the seven-week war, has been put on hold after Tehran failed to respond to American negotiating positions, local media reported on Tuesday.
Vance was scheduled to depart Tuesday morning for Islamabad, where talks were set to resume on Wednesday, the same day the fragile cease-fire between the United States and Iran is set to expire. Without an Iranian response, the diplomatic process is effectively paused, though the trip has not been cancelled, a US official was quoted as saying in a New York Times report.
The trip could be back on at a moment’s notice if Iran’s negotiators respond in a way that President Donald Trump deems acceptable. US officials are also looking for a clear signal that Iran’s negotiators have been fully empowered to reach an agreement, the report said.
The Washington Post attributed the delay to additional policy meetings involving Vance at the White House.
Trump accused Iran of violating the ceasefire numerous times in a post on Truth Social early Tuesday. In a separate interview with CNBC, he said the United States is going to end up with a great deal from the negotiations. I think they have no choice. We’ve taken out their navy, we’ve taken out their air force, we’ve taken out their leaders, Trump said.
When asked whether the US would resume bombing if a deal is not reached by Wednesday, Trump said that he expects to be bombing, because that is a better attitude to go in with. He added that the military is raring to go.
As of midday Tuesday (US time), Vance and White House envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were still in Washington, Axios reported. A US government plane scheduled to take Witkoff and Kushner from Miami to Islamabad via Europe on Tuesday morning never departed — instead taking off around noon for Washington.
Trump has said that if the ceasefire ends without an agreement, he is prepared to resume attacking Iran. “I expect to be bombing because I think that’s a better attitude to go in with, he told CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box’.
When asked if he would extend the ceasefire with Iran to allow time for the peace talks to reach a deal to end the war, Trump said, Well, I don’t want to do that. “They have to negotiate. And, you know, the one thing I’ll say is this: 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,” he added. The President said he thinks the US is going to end up with a great deal with Iran to end the weeks-long war.
“I think they have no choice, Trump said when asked about his expectations from the second round of negotiations with Iran.
“We’ve taken out their navy, we’ve taken out their air force, we’ve taken out their leaders, he said.
We’ve taken out their leaders, frankly, which does complicate things in one way, but these leaders are much more rational, Trump said. It is regime change, no matter what you want to call it, which is not something I said I was going to do, but I’ve done it indirectly. The first round of the US-Iran talks held on 11 and 12 April failed to produce the desired results for the parties, leading to a flurry of activities by host Pakistan to cool tempers and raise hopes for another round of dialogue. PTI SKU RD RD
(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)
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