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Vice President JD Vance and the U.S. delegation are reportedly expected to land in Pakistan within hours to resume peace talks with Iran, President Donald Trump confirmed to the New York Post on Monday (April 20), while also claiming he was willing to meet with senior Iranian leaders if the two sides can reach a breakthrough.
“We’re supposed to have the talks,” Trump said. “So I would assume at this point nobody’s playing games.”
The U.S. delegation, which includes Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, is already en route to Islamabad to resume negotiations.
“They’re heading over now,” Trump said just after 9:00 a.m. EST. “They’ll be there tonight, [Islamabad] time.”
The president had previously claimed that negotiations with Iran would resume on Monday before later announcing that the USS Spruance destroyer intercepted Iran's Touska cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman after the Tehran vessel refused the Americans' warnings to stop. A spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya military command headquarters said it would take "necessary action" after the incident in the Arabian Sea on Sunday (April 19) but would first ensure the safety of the crew and family members on board in comments carried by the semi-official Fars news agency via NBC News.
The spokesperson said Iran was ready for a "decisive response" to what it described as "blatant aggression" by the American military, however, was concerned about the family members of the ship's personnel and claimed it was “constrained in order to preserve their lives and security which were in danger at any moment.”
"The powerful armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will carry out the necessary action against the American terrorist army,” the spokesperson said, once officials could ensure the safety of the families and personnel.