The United States is set to begin a fresh round of high-level diplomacy with Iran this weekend in Pakistan, with Vice President JD Vance leading the American delegation, the White House confirmed on Wednesday.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump is “dispatching his negotiating team” to Islamabad, marking the first in-person engagement between the two sides since a temporary ceasefire was reached.
Vance To Lead US Delegation
Leavitt said Vance, whom she described as Trump’s “right-hand man,” will spearhead the talks alongside Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and senior adviser Jared Kushner.
“Vice President JD Vance has played a very significant and key role in this since the very beginning. Of course, he’s the president’s right-hand man. He is the vice president of the United States. He’s been involved in all of these discussions. He’ll be leading this new phase of negotiations in Islamabad later this week,” she said.
“I can announce that the President is dispatching his negotiating team, led by the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, Special Envoy Witkoff, and Mr Kushner, to Islamabad for talks this weekend. The first round of those talks will take place on Saturday morning, local time, and we look forward to those in-person meetings,” Leavitt added.
Tehran Confirms Participation In US Talks
Iran has confirmed its participation, with President Masoud Pezeshkian approving Tehran’s involvement. According to Iranian state media, the delegation will be led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had earlier warned Washington against what he described as mixed signals on the ceasefire.
“The Iran-U.S. Ceasefire terms are clear and explicit: the U.S. must choose–ceasefire or continued war via Israel. It cannot have both. The world sees the massacres in Lebanon. The ball is in the U.S. court, and the world is watching whether it will act on its commitments,” he said in a post on X.
The talks come after Washington and Tehran agreed to a two-week ceasefire following weeks of escalating conflict. Trump had earlier paused what he described as a “bombing and attack” campaign, calling a 10-point proposal from Iran workable.
The Islamabad meeting is expected to focus on de-escalation and a possible longer-term framework, with both sides entering direct negotiations for the first time since hostilities began.
Vance Warns Iran Over Hormuz, Nuclear Demands
Vance reiterated that the ceasefire hinges on Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz and complying with US expectations.
“We are seeing signs that the Straits are starting to reopen… The deal is a ceasefire, a negotiation — that’s what we give — and what they give is that the Straits are going to be reopened. If we don’t see that happening, the President is not going to abide by our terms if the Iranians are not abiding by their terms,” he said, speaking while departing Hungary.
He also dismissed Iran’s claim that Lebanon was included in the truce. “The Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon, and it just didn’t. We never made that promise. We never indicated that was going to be the case,” Vance added.
Outlining Washington’s position, Vance said the US would push for strict limits on Iran’s nuclear program.
“We don’t want Iran to have the capacity to build a nuclear weapon. The President has also said that we don’t want Iran to enrich uranium towards a nuclear weapon, and we want Iran to give up the nuclear fuel. Those are going to be our demands during the negotiation,” he added.
The upcoming Islamabad meeting is seen as a critical test of the fragile pause in hostilities, with both sides expected to navigate deep disagreements over regional security and Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
