Vice President JD Vance’s expected visit to Pakistan for a second attempt at peace talks with Iran has been put on hold, according to the New York Times. informed Tuesday
The delay came after Tehran failed to respond to the latest US negotiating positions, the Times reported, citing a US official with direct knowledge of the situation.
Stocks fell and oil prices rose following the development, raising fears that a diplomatic end to the US-Israeli war over Iran may be out of reach.
The Times report comes as a fragile two-week ceasefire agreement with Iran signed on the evening of April 7 was soon to expire.
It was not clear when the US negotiating team was scheduled to depart for Islamabad. President Donald Trump said Monday that a U.S. delegation was “leaving right now.” But a source familiar with the matter told CNBC on Monday that the delegation was preparing to visit Islamabad “soon.”
Yet Trump told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Tuesday morning that he thinks the U.S. is “going to make a big deal” with Iran to end the war. Trump also said that he does not expect the ceasefire to be extended.
Days after the ceasefire began, Vance and special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held an initial round of peace talks with their Iranian counterparts in the Pakistani capital. Those talks ended after 21 hours without any agreement.
Vance is attending “additional policy meetings” at the White House, an official there told MS NOW on Tuesday afternoon.
Vance’s motorcade was seen arriving at the White House in the afternoon, CNN reported.