U.S. Vice President JD Vance will lead an American delegation to Pakistan for direct talks with Iran beginning April 11, the White House confirmed, as Washington attempts to turn a fragile ceasefire into a broader peace agreement.<\/p>\n
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the negotiations could represent the first step toward a lasting diplomatic solution following the recent conflict between the United States and Iran.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ceasefire has created an opening,\u201d Leavitt told reporters during a briefing Wednesday, suggesting the pause in fighting could lead to a longer-term regional peace arrangement.<\/p>\n
The U.S. delegation will include Vice President Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. They are scheduled to meet Iranian representatives in Islamabad on Saturday.<\/p>\n
However, key details about the negotiations remain unclear, including the specific peace proposals that will be discussed and the status of shipping through the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
The waterway, through which a large share of the world\u2019s oil supply normally passes, has remained a major point of tension during the conflict.<\/p>\n
Earlier Wednesday, Iranian forces warned that ships attempting to pass through the strait without permission would be \u201cdestroyed.\u201d Despite the threat, the White House said Tehran has privately signaled it is willing to reopen the route.<\/p>\n
Leavitt said Iran\u2019s public messaging differs from what American officials are hearing behind closed doors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re saying something publicly that is different privately,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
During the briefing, Leavitt described the outcome of the recent conflict as an American victory. She said Operation Epic Fury achieved its primary military objectives, including destroying large portions of Iran\u2019s naval forces along with its drone and ballistic missile capabilities.<\/p>\n
The negotiations in Pakistan follow reports that Iran had proposed a 10-point peace plan. Leavitt dismissed those reports as inaccurate, saying an initial Iranian proposal had been rejected by Washington.<\/p>\n
According to the White House, Tehran later submitted a revised proposal after President Donald Trump warned that Iran\u2019s \u201ccivilization will die\u201d if a deal was not reached.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea that President Trump would ever accept an Iranian wish list as a deal is completely absurd,\u201d Leavitt said.<\/p>\n
The president\u2019s threat, posted on Truth Social shortly before the ceasefire announcement, sparked criticism across the U.S. political spectrum and raised concerns about the potential humanitarian impact of expanded military strikes on Iran.<\/p>\n
Leavitt defended Trump\u2019s comments, arguing that his aggressive rhetoric and negotiating strategy helped push Iran toward the ceasefire agreement.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis very tough rhetoric and his tough negotiating style is what has led to the result you are all witnessing today,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The White House also confirmed that Trump expects Iran to quickly reopen the Strait of Hormuz for international shipping.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, tensions between the United States and NATO allies remain high. Trump is scheduled to meet NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte later Wednesday for what the White House described as a \u201cfrank and candid conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The president has criticized the alliance for failing to support the United States during the conflict with Iran and for not assisting efforts to secure the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
\u201cNATO was tested and they failed,\u201d Leavitt said, quoting from a letter written by Trump.<\/p>\n
She also confirmed that Trump has discussed the possibility of the United States leaving NATO, though she did not provide details about any formal plans.<\/p>\n
Relations between Washington and several European allies had already been strained before the Iran conflict, partly due to disagreements over Trump\u2019s proposal to pursue U.S. control of Greenland, a Danish territory \u2014 an idea that has drawn strong opposition from European governments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
U.S. Vice President JD Vance will lead an American delegation to Pakistan for direct talks with Iran beginning April 11, the White House confirmed, as Washington attempts to turn a fragile ceasefire into a broader peace agreement. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the negotiations could represent the first step toward a lasting diplomatic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[113],"tags":[3672,19028,19033,19031,19029,19024,19032,19026,19027,19025,19030],"class_list":["post-16202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world","tag-amat","tag-donald-trump-iran-war-ceasefire-diplomacy","tag-global-oil-shipping-strait-of-hormuz-conflict-news","tag-iran-peace-proposal-10-point-plan-dispute","tag-jared-kushner-steve-witkoff-iran-negotiations","tag-jd-vance-iran-peace-talks-pakistan-islamabad","tag-middle-east-diplomacy-pakistan-mediation-talks","tag-operation-epic-fury-iran-conflict-us-military-objectives","tag-strait-of-hormuz-shipping-crisis-iran-warning-ships","tag-us-iran-ceasefire-negotiations-2026","tag-us-nato-tensions-trump-alliance-criticism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/123"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16202\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}