VP Vance travels to Pakistan for Iran ceasefire talks

Vice President J.D. Vance headed for Pakistan on Friday to lead peace negotiations with Iran days after the countries announced a two-week ceasefire. Vance told reporters on the tarmac in Maryland Friday morning that he expected negotiations to be positive. The United States will extend an open hand if the Iranians negotiate in good faith, but President Donald Trump gave negotiators clear guidelines, he said. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, a son-in-law of the president, were expected to partake in negotiations.  

What has Iran said? Iran would not begin negotiations with the United States until there’s a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of the country’s blocked or frozen assets, according to a Friday statement from Parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf.

A statement from Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, read by a news anchor on a state-run media Thursday night, declared victory over the United States and Israel. Iran will seek reparations and revenge for the death of its martyrs, according to the statement. Khamenei’s statement also espoused a new era for the Strait of Hormuz, a key international trade route that Iran hopes to control. But the statement did not give further details on what his plans for the Strait are. No one has seen Khamenei since he became the leader. His father, the previous leader, was killed in a joint airstrike by the United States and Israel on Feb. 28.

Dig deeper: Listen to Lindsay Mast’s report on The World and Everything in It about various U.S.-Iran disagreements over nuclear policy and sanctions amid the ceasefire.