Trump says Vice President Vance will not lead Iran talks delegation

Kathmandu. US President Donald Trump stated on Sunday that Vice President JD Vance will not lead the delegation for talks aimed at ending the war with Iran. He had previously indicated that the US delegation would arrive in Islamabad by Monday. The news that Vice President Vance, who led the previous round of talks with Tehran without reaching an agreement, will not lead the US negotiating team this time has created uncertainty, especially since members of Trump's cabinet had previously stated that Vance would lead the negotiations.

“It is only for security reasons,” President Trump told ABC News, “Any notion that Vance was removed from the Islamabad trip due to concerns about his ability to reach a deal with the Islamic Republic is not true.”

“JD Vance is great (capable),” Trump added.

Earlier, Washington's envoy to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, had said on ABC News' 'This Week' program, “As the President announced, our chief negotiators and the Vice President are going to Pakistan for the next round of talks.”

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNN's 'State of the Union', “Vance has been leading the talks from the beginning and will likely go this time as well.”

It remains unclear who will lead the US team for the talks scheduled to begin on Monday. Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner had traveled to Pakistan for long talks on April 11.

Prior to this, Trump warned in a post on his Truth Social platform that Iran had completely violated a two-week ceasefire, threatening to destroy Iran's power plants and bridges if no deal was reached.

Stating that he had offered Iran a 'fair deal', Trump said, “If Tehran refuses, 'the US will destroy all of Iran's power plants and every bridge. There is no better option now!'”

Waltz expressed belief that the new round of talks would lead to “incredible results.”

The 'Strait of Hormuz' remained closed on Sunday. A day after announcing the reopening of the strategic waterway, Iran announced on Saturday that it had closed the route to ships again.

Britain's maritime security agency reported on Saturday that Iran's Revolutionary Guards fired on a tanker, while security intelligence firm Vanguard Tech reported that it had warned it would 'destroy' an empty cruise ship fleeing the Gulf.

In a third incident, a British agency said, “It had received a report that a ship was attacked by an 'unknown projectile.' The report mentioned that the shipping container was damaged but did not catch fire.”

The two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran ends on Wednesday.