Photo: JACQUELYN MARTIN / AFP / Getty Images
The US and Iran will meet in Islamabad, Pakistan for peace talks amid a shaky ceasefire in the Middle East on Saturday.
Vice President JD Vance struck a cautious tone before departing, warning Iran not to test the U.S. negotiating posture.
"If they’re gonna try and play us, then they’re gonna find that the negotiating team is not that receptive," Vance said, adding he still expects the talks to be "positive."
President Donald Trump said reopening the Strait of Hormuz is a must in any deal. The President said he doesn’t need a backup plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“You don’t need a backup plan,” Trump said. “Their military is defeated. Their military is gone. We’ve degraded just about everything. They have very few missiles. They have little manufacturing capability. We’ve hit them hard.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf will be negotiating for Iran.
President Trump posted on Truth Social: "The Iranians don’t seem to realize they have no cards, other than a short-term extortion of the World by using International Waterways. The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!" He wrote.