Vice President JD Vance to lead US Team for Iran talks in Pakistan: White House
April 19, 2026 09:10 pm
US Vice President JD Vance will attend the next round of Iran talks in Pakistan along with special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the White House has told CNN.
It comes despite President Donald Trump denying that the vice president would attend the latest round of talks, telling MS Now that it was due to security concerns. Trump’s comments fueled confusion over which officials would be present for the talks in Islamabad, with the president saying his “representatives” would be there tomorrow evening.
Meanwhile, the Iranian state-affiliated Fars News Agency said that a final decision on whether Iran would take part in the second round of negotiations “could not yet be confirmed or ruled out.”
IRIB, the main Iranian state media, also reported that Iran’s participation in the talks had not yet been confirmed by Iranian officials.
Fars said quoted “sources inside Iran” as saying the overall outlook for talks wasn’t “particularly positive.” It added that another source said “that as long as the US maritime blockade continues, Iran won’t even consider a second meeting in Islamabad.”
The semi-official outlet Tasnim went further, reporting on Sunday that “Iran has no current plan to send a negotiating delegation.”
Tasnim said that there would be no talks while the US continues to impose a maritime blockade on Iranian ports.
Source: CNN
-- Agencies
