WASHINGTON — U.S. Vice President JD Vance warned Iran against trying to “play” the United States as he departed for high-stakes ceasefire negotiations in Islamabad, Pakistan, officials said on Friday.
Vance made the remarks to reporters before boarding Air Force Two at Joint Base Andrews on Friday, according to multiple news outlets including the Associated Press, The Guardian and Euronews. He is leading the U.S. delegation for talks with Iranian officials scheduled to begin on Saturday in the Pakistani capital.
“If the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we’re certainly willing to extend the open hand,” Vance said. “If they’re gonna try and play us, then they’re gonna find that the negotiating team is not that receptive.”
The comments came hours before Vance’s arrival in Islamabad on Saturday morning, where he was greeted by Pakistani officials including Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir. The U.S. team also includes special envoy Steve Witkoff and senior adviser Jared Kushner, pool reports and news footage showed.
Iranian officials, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, arrived separately in Islamabad for the mediated talks, Iranian state media and international reports said. Pakistan is hosting the negotiations following its role in helping secure a recent ceasefire that paused more than five weeks of conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran.
Details of the agenda remained limited as the talks were set to start later on Saturday. Disagreements persist over issues including the situation in Lebanon and access to the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. and regional officials have said. The ceasefire followed an escalation that disrupted regional stability and global energy supplies, though specific details of the conflict’s timeline and impacts varied across reporting.
President Donald Trump has separately warned that the U.S. would renew and intensify military action if a lasting deal cannot be reached, according to CNN and other outlets. Iranian officials have cited conditions including a ceasefire in Lebanon and release of blocked assets before full negotiations can proceed, state media reported.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described the weekend talks as a “make-or-break moment” for regional stability in a national address on Friday, CNN reported.
As of Saturday afternoon in Islamabad, the delegations were expected to hold separate and mediated sessions with Pakistani hosts. No joint statements had been issued and outcomes of the initial discussions remained unclear, officials said.
