US Vice President JD Vance is expected to depart for Islamabad by Tuesday morning to conduct talks with Iran regarding a potential agreement to end the war, Axios reported.
Vance will arrive in Pakistan just as the ceasefire is about to expire – formally around midnight on April 21st. There is no agreement for its extension, but more importantly, it’s unclear whether Iran will attend the talks.
Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are also expected to travel to Islamabad for the negotiations.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has threatened to launch a new air campaign against bridges in Iran and power generation facilities if no agreement is reached.
He states he won’t rush to sign a bad deal, but hasn’t completely ruled out the possibility of an extension, even for just a few hours. In practice, as Axios adds, Trump has already essentially added a day, as he stated Monday that the deadline was until Wednesday evening.
“He doesn’t want to fight anymore, but will if he feels he must” – Alternative scenarios the US is considering against Iran
Behind the scenes, the American side is also examining alternative scenarios, including a new military operation, with the strategically important Kharg Island as a potential target.
Although the initial military phase is considered complete, officials leave open the possibility of continuation.
“He wants to finish it. He doesn’t like that Iran maintains control of the Strait of Hormuz. He doesn’t want to fight anymore, but will if he feels he must,” a government official told Axios.
Waiting for Tehran
The White House, Axios reports, waited all Monday for a signal from Tehran that it would send the negotiating team to Islamabad.
However, a source with knowledge of the matter said the Iranians were delaying amid pressure from the Revolutionary Guards on negotiators to maintain a tougher line on the position that no discussion without ending the US embargo.
For its part, the Iranian team was waiting for the green light from the supreme leader, which came Monday evening.
The political leadership in Tehran is sending its own messages.
“Iran will not negotiate under the shadow of threats”
Iran will not negotiate under the shadow of threats, conveyed Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. In a post at midnight Monday, he wrote:
“Trump, by imposing a siege and violating the ceasefire, seeks to turn this negotiating table—in his own imagination—into a surrender table or to justify the resumption of his warmongering actions.
We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats and for the last two weeks we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield.”
Iran denounces the US for “continued ceasefire violations”
Earlier Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar that “continued ceasefire violations” by the US constitute a significant obstacle to continuing the diplomatic process, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry in Tehran.
“Iran will carefully weigh the conditions and then decide which path to take,” he added.
Earlier, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei stated during a briefing that the Islamic Republic has not yet decided whether to conduct new talks with Washington and that no next round of negotiations has been scheduled.
The first round of negotiations in the Pakistani capital was fruitless.
