Vance expects positive talks with Iran as US VP leaves for Pakistan
- 'We're looking forward to the negotiation. I think it's going to be positive,' US VP says
LOS ANGELES: Vice President JD Vance said on Friday he was looking forward to having positive negotiations with Iran as he left for talks in Pakistan with a warning to Tehran not to “play us.”
“We’re looking forward to the negotiation. I think it’s going to be positive,” Vance told reporters before leaving Washington.
“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,” Vance said. “If they’re going to try to play us, then they’re going to find the negotiating team is not that receptive.”
Trump announced a ceasefire in the six-week-old Iran conflict late on Tuesday on Pakistan’s request, just hours before a deadline after which he threatened to destroy Iran’s entire civilisation.
In Pakistan, authorities are ready for the first round of US-Iran talks, locking down the capital Islamabad.
However, ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz stood at well below 10% of normal volumes on Thursday despite a US-Iran ceasefire as Tehran asserted its control by warning ships to keep to its territorial waters while doing so.
Hundreds of tankers and other ships have been stuck inside the Gulf since the Iran war began on Feb 28, cutting global oil supply by 20% in the world’s biggest-ever supply disruption.
Prices for some physical oil grades hit fresh all-time highs on Thursday as the crisis showed little signs of abating.