The chances of another round of U.S.-Iran peace talks before the expiration of a fragile ceasefire appeared to dim on Tuesday, as Vice President JD Vance remained in Washington and Iran said it had not yet decided whether it would participate in negotiations.
Vance was expected to leave for Islamabad, Pakistan, on Tuesday morning to lead a U.S. delegation in talks with Iran. But by the afternoon, Vance was still in Washington, participating in policy meetings at the White House, a White House official told USA TODAY. The Iranian government, meanwhile, expressed frustration with the Trump administration and said it hadn’t decided on whether it would send diplomats to Pakistan.
“It is not out of indecisiveness, it is because we are facing contradictory messages and behaviors, and unacceptable actions from the American counterpart,” said Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei, referencing the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports that saw American forces seize an Iranian cargo ship.
The peace talks were expected to take place Wednesday, the same day a two-week ceasefire between the warring countries expires. President Donald Trump on Tuesday told CNBC that he does not want to extend the ceasefire and that the U.S. is “ready to go militarily.”
Zac Anderson
Vice President JD Vance was expected to head to Pakistan on Tuesday for a second round of in-person peace talks with Iranian officials over ending the war, but a White House official said Vance was still in Washington for meetings.
The official said Vance will participate in policy meetings at the White House. The Trump administration and leaders in Tehran agreed to a two-week ceasefire in the war, but that is soon coming to an end and there are big questions about what comes next. Trump has been pushing for a permanent peace deal, but an Iranian official said the regime hasn’t determined whether it will participate in more talks.
Christopher Cann
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said his country has not made a decision on whether it will participate in negotiations with the U.S. in Pakistan.
He said Iran is “facing contradictory messages and behaviors, and unacceptable actions from the American counterpart.” Baghaei also condemned reported attack on Iranian vessels amid the U.S. blockade.
Christopher Cann
JD Vance has not left for Islamabad, Pakistan, where the latest rounds of U.S.-Iran peace talks were expected to take place ahead of the ceasefire’s expiration, multiple news outlets reported.
Vance was participating in policy meetings in the White House on Tuesday morning, according to the New York Times and the Associated Press, citing White House officials.
The White House did not immediately respond to questions on whether the vice president still intends to travel to Pakistan for negotiations.
Christopher Cann
Since the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports and coastlines began last week, at least 28 vessels have complied with demands to turn around, according to U.S. Central Command.
The blockade went into effect on Monday, April 13, in response to Iran’s tightening control over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane that carries one-fifth of the global oil supply.
In recent days, the standoff intensified as the U.S. attacked and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that attempted to pass the blockade. Iran called the move “piracy” and vowed to retaliate.
Christopher Cann
Pakistan’s federal minister of information, Attaullah Tarar, said on Tuesday that mediators are still awaiting an answer from the Iranians on whether they will participate in peace negotiations with the U.S. before the ceasefire expires.
He said on X that a decision from Iran is critical to Pakistan’s efforts to bring about a diplomatic end to the war. Tarar added that efforts to bring the Iranians to the negotiating table are ongoing.
Pakistan has played a critical role in mediating talks between the U.S. and Iran, hosting an initial round of negotiations earlier this month and making strides to facilitate more talks ahead of the ceasefire’s scheduled expiration on Wednesday.
Christopher Cann
President Trump said on Tuesday that the U.S. was considering a currency swap with the United Arab Emirates, calling the Middle East country a reliable ally.
“If I could help them, I would,” Trump said on CNBC. “I mean, we’re helping them much more with what we’re doing with the war.”
“They’re really led by incredible people,” he said, adding: “If the UAE had a problem – I find it hard to believe – but if they had a problem, we would be there for them.”
Kathryn Palmer
The president again slammed congressional Democrats for their significant opposition to the war, naming leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries during his CNBC interview.
“We can’t let traitors like Schumer put pressure on you, where they say, ‘we want out.’ Think how bad that is,” Trump said. “I’m negotiating with these people and they’re telling us, ‘we have to get out now.'”
Democrats have launched multiple war power resolution efforts to try to end the war with Iran, though all have failed to gain enough Republican support.
“I want to make a good deal, I’m not gonna be rushed. I have all the time in the world,” Trump said.
“We’ve done a great job, and I don’t want to be rushed by people that are really treasonous, as far as I’m concerned,” Trump added, before calling Jeffries a “low-IQ individual.”
Francesca Chambers
The president said he told his economic team before the U.S. struck Iran that he was going to “put a little wrinkle” in their numbers with military action.
“And they said, ‘Wow, that’s going to be bad.’ I said, ‘Yeah, it’s going to hurt the market, and it’s going to drive up the price of oil,” Trump recalled. “But that’s peanuts compared to what would happen if we let this happen.”
Trump said in a television interview that the stock market would have taken a bigger hit if Iran had obtained a nuclear weapon, as he has insisted throughout the conflict it was close to producing.
“You want to see a bad stock market? Try blowing up the Middle East, and then Europe, and then they come for us,” Trump said on CNBC.
Zac Anderson
Trump dismissed concerns about the impact on Iran’s civilian population if he follows through on a threat to bomb Iran’s bridges and power plants if Tehran doesn’t reach a deal to end the war, saying it will also “hurt them militarily” because they are using the infrastructure to move military equipment.
The president told CNBC he is prepared to continue bombing Iran if they don’t agree to a deal.
“I expect to be bombing because I think that’s a better attitude to go in with,” Trump said.
Christopher Cann
President Donald Trump told CNBC in an interview on Tuesday that he does not want to extend the ceasefire with Iran and that the U.S. is ready to go “militarily.”
Trump said he believes the conflict will end with a “great deal” and that the United States is in a strong negotiating position.
Michael Loria
Over 60 people were arrested on Capitol Hill at an anti-Iran war protest hosted by a group of veterans on Monday.
“We are veterans and military families, demanding an end to the war on Iran,” a group member declared while standing before some 130 people in military fatigues inside the Cannon House Office Building rotunda. “We demand that Congress not authorize one cent more to this war. We demand that Donald Trump bring back all U.S. military personnel and stop these illegal and immoral attacks on the Iranian people.”
The protest was hosted by About Face: Veterans Against the War, a veterans organization that formed in the wake of the Iraq War. Throughout Trump’s second administration, the group has been calling on veterans to ignore illegal orders from the White House, including deploying to U.S. cities to help with immigration enforcement.
United States Capitol Police said 66 people were arrested in connection with the demonstration for “illegally protesting inside the Cannon House Office Building.”
“Demonstrations are not allowed inside Congressional Buildings, so when they started to protest and refused to stop, we began arresting them,” Capitol Police said in a statement, adding the group entered the building legally.
Michael Loria
President Donald Trump said “thank you very much” to Iranian leaders Monday afternoon, saying they have “forced” oil tankers to come to the United States for oil.
“The Iranian leadership has forced hundreds of Ships toward the United States, mostly Texas, Louisiana, and Alaska, to get their Oil,” the president said. “Thank you very much!”
U.S. Energy Information Administration data shows the country’s net exports for the week of April 10 were over 6,000 barrels, up from about 3,300 on Feb. 27, the day before Trump and ally Israel launched the war.
“What this means is that U.S. oil companies and refiners are doing financially well. However, this likely translates to elevated costs for U.S. customers in the long run,” Ramanan Krishnamoorti, an oil energy expert and professor of petroleum engineering at the University of Houston, told USA TODAY. “So no relief for the weary, even when the war ends.”
Among sites seeing increasing tanker traffic are Corpus Christi, Texas, and the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, said Krishnamoorti, adding many of the tankers are coming from Japan and Korea through the Panama Canal. East Asia has long relied on oil from the Middle East and has been hit hard by the war.
Michael Loria
Another U.S. carrier strike group appears headed for the Middle East as the United States continues its naval blockade of Iranian ports.
The U.S. Naval Institute, a nonprofit that covers the Navy, reported the USS George H.W. Bush was located in the southern Indian Ocean off the coast of Madagascar.
Updated reporting on the group’s location comes about a week after the Naval Institute reported the carrier group was headed to the Middle East to assist in the blockade.
The institute reported the Navy vessels opted to go around Africa rather than take typical routes through the Mediterranean and Red seas to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off the coast of Yemen, where Iran-backed Houthis are active.
Pentagon officials declined to comment on the carrier group’s earlier reported movements. USA TODAY has reached out for comment following the Naval Institute update on the group’s location.
Also located in the area are the USS Gerald R. Ford, in the Red Sea near the Suez Canal, and the USS Abraham Lincoln and the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group in the Arabian Sea, according to the Naval Institute.