Vance departs for Iran negotiations

Vice President JD Vance said Friday he expects the upcoming negotiations between the U.S. and Iran to be “positive,” but warned Tehran not to “play us.”

“We’re looking forward to the negotiation. I think it’s going to be positive. We’ll, of course, see,” he told reporters before boarding Air Force Two en route to Islamabad, Pakistan, the site of the talks.

The vice president will lead the U.S. delegation, which also includes special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

“As the president of the United States said, if the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we’re certainly willing to extend the open hand. If they’re going to try to play us, then they’re going to find that the negotiating team is not that receptive,” the vice president said.

“So we’re trying to have a positive negotiation. The president has gave us some pretty clear guidelines, and we’re going to see.”

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, who is expected to lead the Iranian delegation, tempered expectations ahead of Saturday’s talks, saying the U.S. and Israel were failing to uphold their end of the two-week ceasefire deal.

“Two of the measures mutually agreed upon between the parties have yet to be implemented: a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of Iran’s blocked assets prior to the commencement of negotiations,” he said in a social media post. “These two matters must be fulfilled before negotiations begin.”

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