Vice President JD Vance delayed a planned trip to Islamabad after Iran failed to commit to U.S.–Iran talks, while President Trump extended a fragile ceasefire and kept a naval blockade in place.
Vice President JD Vance’s planned trip to Pakistan for a second round of U.S.–Iran talks has been put on hold after Tehran did not commit to attend, according to reporting relayed by CNBC from the New York Times and reinforced by Vance remaining in Washington for policy meetings. The pause comes as the administration tries to salvage a diplomatic path while a tenuous ceasefire holds.
President Trump on Tuesday said the ceasefire with Iran would be extended to give Tehran more time to present a unified proposal, NPR reported. He did not specify the duration and said the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports would continue. Earlier the same day, Trump told CNBC he thought the U.S. was “going to end up with a great deal” with Iran but said he did not expect to extend the ceasefire.
Uncertainty deepened over whether talks in Islamabad will happen this week. Iran notified Pakistan it would not send a delegation for Wednesday’s session, according to Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency cited by NPR. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the ongoing U.S. port blockade “an act of war and thus a violation of the ceasefire.” A senior Iranian official separately told Reuters that Iran could still attend if Washington eases its pressure campaign, CNBC reported.
Markets reacted to the setback: stocks fell and oil prices rose after word that Vance’s trip was on hold, CNBC reported, reflecting concerns that a diplomatic end to the war could be slipping further out of reach.
U.S. priorities for the talks include restoring commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and securing limits on Iran’s nuclear program, NPR reported. Vance has said discussions broke down in the initial Islamabad round because Iran would not affirm it will forgo a nuclear weapon.
It remains unclear when a U.S. team might depart for Pakistan. Trump said Monday a delegation was “heading over now,” but a source later told CNBC the group was preparing to travel “soon.” On Tuesday, a White House official said Vance would take part in additional policy meetings, and his motorcade was seen arriving at the White House, according to CNBC and CNN.
With the ceasefire extended but enforcement contested, the next signals to watch are whether Tehran agrees to attend talks in Islamabad, any clarification from Washington on the length of the pause, and signs of movement around the Strait of Hormuz that could ease pressure on global oil markets.
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