US Vice President JD Vance speaks to the media before boarding Air Force Two for expected departure to Pakistan for talks on Iran at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, on April 10, 2026.
Jacqueline Martin via reuters
Vice President J.D. Vance said Friday he thinks talks with Iran to end the six-week war will be “positive,” while he warned Tehran’s diplomatic team not to “mess with us.”
Vance spoke to reporters before boarding air force two But joint base andrews in Maryland to travel to Pakistan for those talks, which are scheduled to begin in Islamabad on Saturday.
But Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Tehran’s alleged negotiator, appeared to pour cold water on the meetings on Friday morning.
“Two measures mutually agreed upon between the two sides have not yet been implemented: a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of Iran’s blocked assets before the start of negotiations,” Ghalibaf said in a post on Twitter.
“These two matters must be completed before negotiations can begin,” he wrote.
The post puts further pressure on an already fragile two-week ceasefire, which began on Tuesday and has been repeatedly threatened since then.
Iran has accused the US of violating the ceasefire, pointing to Israeli attacks in Lebanon. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has expressed frustration over Iran blocking most shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
The strait is the world’s most important shipping route for oil. Before the war, 20% of the world’s crude oil was shipped via that route.
“We’re looking forward to negotiations,” Vance said Friday. “I think it’s going to be positive.”
Vance said, “As the President of the United States said, if the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we are certainly willing to extend an open hand.”
“If they try to play with us they will find that the team is not as receptive to talking,” he said. “So we’re trying to have positive conversations. The President … has given us some clear guidelines, and we’ll see.”
According to the White House, the US delegation will include Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner.
Ghalibaf and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are reportedly leading Tehran’s team.
In an announcement Tuesday evening, Trump said the US would agree to a two-week suspension of hostilities provided Iran agreed to the full and immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
But since then, ship traffic through the strait has remained almost as tight as it was since the war began on February 28.
In a Truth Social post Thursday evening, Trump fumed, saying, “There are reports that Iran is charging tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz – they better not be doing that and, if they are, they better stop right now!”
“Iran is doing a very bad job, allowing oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz is outrageous, some would even say outrageous,” the president wrote in a follow-up post. “This is not the agreement we have between us!”