WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Vice President on Friday warned Iran not to 鈥減lay鈥� the U.S. as he headed overseas for .
President has tasked the member of his inner circle who has seemed to be the most reluctant defender of the 6-week-old conflict with Iran to now find a resolution and stave off the to wipe out its 鈥渨hole civilization.鈥�
Vance, who has long been and outspoken about the prospect of sending troops into open-ended conflicts, set off Friday to lead mediated talks with Iran in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.
鈥淚f the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we鈥檙e certainly willing to extend the open hand,鈥� Vance told reporters before boarding Air Force Two to make his way to the talks in Pakistan. But he added, 鈥淚f they鈥檙e gonna try and play us, then they鈥檙e gonna find that the negotiating team is not that receptive.鈥�
Vance’s trip comes as appears to be on . The chasm between Iran鈥檚 public demands and those from the U.S. and its partner Israel seems irreconcilable. And in the U.S., where Vance might ask voters in two years鈥� time to make him the next president, there is growing political and economic pressure to wrap it up.
As Vance made his way to the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, Iran’s parliament speaker said in a social media post that a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israel is targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, and the release of blocked Iranian assets 鈥渕ust be fulfilled before negotiations begin.鈥� He did not elaborate further.
Qalibaf and other senior Iranian officials arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan, later on Friday ahead of Vance. The Iranian delegation for the talks, which is slated to begin Saturday, also includes Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Ali Akbar Ahmadian, secretary of the Supreme National Defense Council, Central Bank Governor Abdolnasser Hemmati, and several lawmakers. It was received at the airport by Pakistan鈥檚 Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and other senior Pakistani government officials.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a televised address to his nation on Friday, described the talks as a 鈥渕ake-or-break moment鈥� for the two sides.
Vance is joined by Trump’s special envoy and Trump’s son-in-law , who took part in three rounds of indirect talks with Iranian negotiators aimed at settling U.S. concerns about Tehran鈥檚 nuclear and ballistic weapons programs and its support for armed proxy groups in the Middle East before Trump and Israel launched the war against Iran on Feb. 28.
The White House has provided scant detail about the format of the talks 鈥� whether they will be direct or indirect 鈥� and has not provided specific expectations for the meeting.
But the arrival of Vance for negotiations marks a rare moment of high-level U.S. government engagement with the Iranian government. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the most direct contact had been when President Barack Obama, a Democrat, in September 2013 to discuss Iran鈥檚 nuclear program.
The 2 sides face a steep climb in making headway
Almost immediately after the White House and Iran announced a temporary ceasefire Tuesday evening, the sides found themselves at odds over the terms of the truce.
Iran insisted that an end to the Israeli war in Lebanon was part of the ceasefire. But and Trump said the truce Lebanon, and the Israeli operations there continued.
The U.S., meanwhile, demanded that Iran make good on reopening . The Islamic Republic had closed the critical shipping waterway in response to Israel鈥檚 intensifying attacks against the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.
鈥淭he Iranians don鈥檛 seem to realize they have no cards, other than a short-term extortion of the World by using International Waterways,鈥� Trump posted on social media on Friday. 鈥淭he only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!鈥�
Iran鈥檚 effective shuttering of the waterway has had a major impact on the U.S. and global economies. In the United States, in March from a year earlier, the Labor Department reported Friday. The largest monthly jump in gas prices in six decades spurred the sharp spike in inflation.
Still, Trump expressed confidence in an exchange with reporters on Friday evening about the U.S. position going into the talks. He predicted that the strait will soon be reopened 鈥渨ith or without鈥� Tehran’s cooperation.
High stakes for peace 鈥� and for politics
It鈥檚 the highest-stakes moment thus far for Vance, who spent much of last year as more of a background player in the Trump White House, especially as others like Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio took turns as ever-present advisers for the president.
鈥淚 wished him luck. He鈥檚 got a big thing,鈥� Trump said of his parting message to Vance before he began his journey to Islamabad.
Vance鈥檚 portfolio is fattening fast, first with a mission to at home and now to help solve a U.S. war in the Middle East, where complicated doesn鈥檛 even begin to describe things.
Vance, who served in the Iraq War while in the Marines and spent two years as a U.S. senator for Ohio and a little more than one as vice president, has little diplomatic experience.
On Wednesday, he dismissed speculation that the Iranians requested that he join the talks, telling reporters: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know that. I would be surprised if that was true. But, you know, I wanted to be involved because I thought I could make a difference.鈥�
Jonathan Schanzer, a former Treasury Department official who is now executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think tank, said Vance, with little experience on Iran policy, is an interesting choice to lead the delegation.
Trump has noted his vice president was 鈥渓ess enthusiastic鈥� than other top senior officials in the Republican administration, making Vance an intriguing interlocutor for the Iranian side, Schanzer said.
鈥淚 think they probably prefer him knowing that his perspective on foreign intervention is one of skepticism,鈥� Schanzer said of the Iranians. 鈥淚 do think that he鈥檚 going to need some help. I don鈥檛 think he鈥檚 ever been engaged in negotiations with this kind of weight, this kind of seriousness. This is as serious as it gets.鈥�
The White House has pushed back against the characterization that Iran wanted Vance in the talks, casting it as an effort to hurt negotiations.
Negotiating peace is a tall order for any vice president
Vance and Rubio are seen as the Republican Party鈥檚 strongest , though neither has given a clear answer about whether he intends to run.
As vice president, Vance inherently would carry any baggage of the administration if he eventually runs for president, said Joel Goldstein, a professor of law at Saint Louis University, who is an expert on the history of the vice presidency. Stepping in to lead negotiations even further ties him to the conflict.
鈥淭he fact that he鈥檚 involved in the negotiations in a very visible way, that means that, if things go south, that people will be pointing fingers at him,鈥� Goldstein said.
He added, 鈥淚f things go well, then it will be something that he could point to.鈥�
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AP writer Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan, contributed reporting.
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