Vance puts Islamabad trip 'on hold' as US-Iran ceasefire to end in hours - as Trump warns military 'raring to go' if talks fail
Trump said he does not want to extend a ceasefire with Tehran as the deadline on the two-week truce is set to expire on Wednesday.
JD Vance's trip to Islamabad for peace talks with Iran has been postponed despite the two-week ceasefire deadline fast approaching.
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The US Vice President is supposed to be leading a US delegation for a second round of talks with Iranian negotiators in Pakistan before the tentative two-week ceasefire runs out on Wednesday.
But Vance's trip has been delayed after Iran failed to respond to the US negotiating position, sources told the New York Times.
It comes after Iranian chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused the US president of seeking to turn the negotiating table into a “table of surrender”.
“We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats,” he wrote in an X post and said Iran was preparing “to reveal new cards on the battlefield”.
However, Donald Trump said on Tuesday afternoon that he was not seeking to extend to the ceasefire ahead of planned talks.
“I don’t want to do that. We don’t have that much time,” he said.
Read more: Iran stalls on US peace talks as ceasefire deadline looms - but Trump insists deal is 'imminent'
Read more: 'Israel never talked me into the war,' insists Trump as US team heads for talks in Islamabad
The US president also said he is ready to renew attacks against Iran if progress is not made with Terhan, warning the US military “raring to go”.
However, in a seeimingly mixed message he insisted the US was in a strong position and was “going to end up with a great deal” as his team of negotiators geared up to meet with Iranian counterparts in Pakistan.
That meeting now appears to be in doubt - with Vance still in the US as of Tuesday evening despite the looming ceasefire deadline.
Threatening to resume strikes if a deal is not struck with Iran soon, Trump said: “Well, I expect to be bombing because I think that’s a better attitude to go in with.
“But, you know, we’re ready to go. I mean, the military is raring to go,” Trump told CNBC.
The president added: “What I think is that we’re going to end up with a great deal.”
“I think they (Iran) have no choice.
"We’ve taken out their navy, we’ve taken out their air force, we’ve taken out their leaders.”
He again claimed the US and Israel's war has achieved “regime change” and said those now in charge were “much more rational”.
Trump continued: “I think we’re in a very strong negotiating position to do what other presidents should have done during a 47-year period.”
Uncertainty has hung over fresh negotiations between the two sides in Islamabad, amid the ongoing impasse in the Strait of Hormuz, which continues to disrupt international shipping.
The effective closure of the critical supply route during the conflict has inflicted a global economic shock and sent energy prices soaring.
Oil prices fell on Tuesday while most stocks rose on lingering hopes for a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
It comes as UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has been holding discussions with counterparts aimed at safeguarding the strategic waterway, describing it as “a critical diplomatic moment” in the crisis.
On Monday night, Iranian chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused Trump of increasing pressure on Iran though the blockade and ceasefire violations.
He claimed Tehran refused to negotiate under threat, warning that “we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield”.
A senior Pakistani official also told Reuters that the country had "received a positive signal" from Tehran about attending negotiations and preparations for the talks were still going ahead.