May 15, 2026 – by online – Leave a Comment

Vice President JD Vance was expected to board a plane and lead a U.S. negotiating team in talks in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, but was unexpectedly called back to the White House on Tuesday amid uncertainty over Iran’s participation.
CNN’s Alayna Treene reported that Vance will not go to Islamabad as planned, but he will go to policy meetings at the White House on Tuesday. Sources told Treene that it is still unclear if Vance’s trip will happen at all.

“We don’t know if this trip is definitely off,” she told The Situation Room anchors Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown. “All we do know is that it is definitely delayed and that we should expect to see now the vice president at the White House for meetings today, not leaving this morning on that plane as we had previously reported.”

Vance flew to Pakistan earlier this month to lead talks in Islamabad along with special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner. The VP said the Iranians refused to agree to the main point the Americans were seeking — an “affirmative commitment” the country will not pursue nuclear weapons.

The meeting failed to result in a deal being made
The meeting failed to result in a deal being made.

“The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement,” Vance said at the time. “And I think that’s bad news for Iran, much more than it’s bad news for the United States of America.”

Since the U.S. started blocking ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports, U.S. Central Command said on Tuesday that U.S. forces have told 28 ships to turn around or go back to port.

official declined to say whether any ships have entered Iranian ports, but they stated that, if any have, they would be unable to get past the blockade in the Gulf of Oman when they leave
A U.S. official declined to say whether any ships have entered Iranian ports, but they stated that, if any have, they would be unable to get past the blockade in the Gulf of Oman when they leave.

The two-week ceasefire between the U.S., Israel, and Iran is about to end, but it’s still not clear if Iranian officials will come to Islamabad to talk.

The Pakistani information minister, Attaullah Tarar, said as of 7:30 p.m. Pakistani time (10:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern time), a “formal response from [the] Iranian side about confirmation of delegation to attend Islamabad Peace Talks is still awaited.”

However, Tarar did say Pakistani mediators were in “constant touch” with the Iranians and emphasized the talks were “critical.”
However, Tarar did say Pakistani mediators were in “constant touch” with the Iranians and emphasized the talks were “critical.”

In a bad sign for negotiations, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian criticized Trump and the negotiations in a post on X, writing, “The level of understanding and comprehension of the requesters from Iran regarding their presence in Islamabad is even lower than Trump’s level of understanding and comprehension…!”

U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker, who heads up the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, met with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday to discuss diplomatic efforts to end the Iran war, which Pakistan has spearheaded for weeks.

Dar “underscored Pakistan’s consistent emphasis on dialogue and diplomacy as the only viable means to address challenges and achieve lasting regional peace and stability,” the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a readout of the meeting posted on X
Dar “underscored Pakistan’s consistent emphasis on dialogue and diplomacy as the only viable means to address challenges and achieve lasting regional peace and stability,” the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a readout of the meeting posted on X. “He stressed the need for engagement between the United States and Iran, urged both sides to consider extending the ceasefire, and to give dialogue and diplomacy a chance.”

President Trump has indicated he does not want to extend the ceasefire, hoping instead for a permanent solution.

“I don’t want to do that. We don’t have that much time,” Mr. Trump told CNBC about extending the two-week ceasefire, which he has said will end Wednesday. “Iran can get themselves on a very good footing if they make a deal. They can make themselves into a strong nation again, a wonderful nation again.”