Vice President JD Vance, setting off for U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan, said Washington is “willing to extend the open hand” in this weekend’s negotiations but warned Tehran not to “try to play us.”
A key aim of the talks is to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump, who announced a two-week cease-fire with Iran earlier this week, on Friday said the U.S. was “loading up the ships” with ammunition and weapons should the negotiations fall apart.
Iran and the U.S. have a meeting scheduled for Saturday in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. A top Iranian official on Friday appeared to raise a new condition for negotiations, saying the release of Iran’s “blocked assets” must occur before talks begin, in addition to a cease-fire in Lebanon.
Officials held a preparatory call on Friday ahead of in-person Israel-Lebanon negotiations scheduled for next week in Washington. Israel has said it would continue military operations against Hezbollah while taking part in talks. Israel and the U.S. deny that the U.S.-Iran cease-fire covers that conflict.