- US Vice President JD Vance may visit Pakistan to discuss ending Trump's Iran war
- Iran reportedly declined talks with Trump's envoys Witkoff and Kushner
- White House says Vance has always been involved in national security talks
US Vice President JD Vance may visit Pakistan by the end of this week to discuss an off-ramp to Donald Trump's war of choice in Iran, according to a report by CNN. The development came after Iranian representatives reportedly told the Trump administration that they do not want to re-enter talks with envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, following which Islamabad pushed for Vance's name.
The White House, meanwhile, downplayed the change that is making Trump's vice president more of an active participant in negotiations with Tehran. "I don't think anything has changed. The vice president has always been a key member -- the president's right-hand man and a key member of the president's national security team. He's been part of these discussions throughout this entire course of the administration," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday.
According to Leavitt, President Trump seeks Vance's counsel "on all matters, both foreign and domestic".
Leavitt also declined to elaborate on whom in Iran the US is negotiating with. But, citing people familiar with the development, CNN reported that Team Trump is working to arrange a meeting with officials, including Vance, in Pakistan this weekend to discuss the de-escalation of war. The report said that the timing of the expected trip is fluid, as is the location and who may attend.
'Pak Wants Vance'
The reports about Vance's Pakistan trip came a day after media reports claimed that the vice-president was being put forward as a probable chief negotiator from the US side if talks went ahead in Islamabad.
Media reports have claimed that Iranian negotiators have refused to sit down with Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, or Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who led the nuclear negotiations with Iran before the war.
Pakistan's prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has said that his country is ready to "facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks" to end the war in the Middle East while attempting to push Islamabad as a possible venue for negotiations between the US and Iran. According to a Guardian report, officials in Pakistan said the US and Iran could meet for negotiations in Islamabad as early as this week to discuss an end to the war, which began almost a month ago.
