Vice President JD Vance left the United States on Friday for Pakistan ahead of high-stakes talks aimed at securing a lasting peace deal with Iran.
Before boarding Air Force Two, Vance said he was optimistic about the negotiations but warned that if Iran attempts to “play us,” the U.S. negotiating team “is not going to be receptive.”
Iran on Friday cast doubt on whether the talks would take place, citing what it described as violations of the two-week ceasefire agreement that paved the way for negotiations.
"Two of the measures mutually agreed upon between the parties have yet to be implemented: a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of Iran’s blocked assets prior to the commencement of negotiations," Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, said. "These two matters must be fulfilled before negotiations begin."
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President Donald Trump also accused Iran of failing to uphold the agreement.
"Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz," Trump complained on Truth Social on Thursday. "That is not the agreement we have!"
Iran has repeatedly said it will not reopen the strait because Israel continues its aggression in Lebanon. Israel’s prime minister said Thursday that the country would seek the disarmament of Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and begin direct talks with Lebanon “as soon as possible.”
