U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks to the media earlier than boarding Air Drive Two for anticipated departure to Pakistan for talks on Iran, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., April 10, 2026.
Jacquelyn Martin | By way of Reuters
Vice President JD Vance mentioned on Friday that he thinks negotiations with Iran to finish the six-week warfare will likely be “constructive,” whereas warning Tehran’s diplomatic workforce to not “play us.”
Vance spoke to reporters earlier than boarding Air Drive Two at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to fly to Pakistan for these talks, set to start Saturday in Islamabad.
However Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a reported negotiator for Tehran, appeared to pour chilly water on the conferences on Friday morning.
“Two of the measures mutually agreed upon between the events have but to be applied: a ceasefire in Lebanon and the discharge of Iran’s blocked property previous to the graduation of negotiations,” Ghalibaf mentioned in a publish on X.
“These two issues have to be fulfilled earlier than negotiations start,” he wrote.
The publish places additional pressure on an already fragile two-week ceasefire, which started Tuesday and has been repeatedly threatened since.
Iran has accused the U.S. of violating the ceasefire, pointing partly to Israeli assaults in Lebanon. President Donald Trump, in the meantime, has expressed frustration with Iran persevering with to dam most delivery visitors by way of the Strait of Hormuz.
The strait is the world’s most very important delivery route for oil. Earlier than the warfare, 20% of the world’s crude was shipped by way of that passage.
“We’re trying ahead to the negotiation,” Vance mentioned Friday. “I believe it’ll be constructive.”
“Because the president of the USA mentioned, if the Iranians are prepared to barter in good religion, we’re actually prepared to increase the open hand,” Vance mentioned.
“If they’ll attempt to play us, then they’ll discover that the negotiating workforce is just not that receptive,” he added. “So we’re attempting to have a constructive negotiation. The president … gave us some fairly clear tips, and we’ll see.”
The U.S. delegation will embody Vance, Particular Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and advisor, in accordance with the White Home.
Ghalibaf and Iranian International Minister Abbas Araghchi are reportedly main Tehran’s workforce.
In an announcement Tuesday night, Trump mentioned that the U.S. would comply with a two-week suspension of hostilities topic to Iran agreeing to a whole and speedy reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
However since then, vessel visitors by way of the strait stays almost as tightly throttled because it has been for the reason that warfare started on Feb. 28.
In a Reality Social publish on Thursday night, Trump fumed, “There are studies that Iran is charging charges to tankers going by way of the Hormuz Strait — They higher not be and, if they’re, they higher cease now!”
Iran “is doing a really poor job, dishonorable some would say, of permitting Oil to undergo the Strait of Hormuz,” the president wrote in a follow-up publish. “That’s not the settlement we have now!”
