US Vice President JD Vance will again lead the American delegation
Donald Trump says he ‘expects to be bombing Iran’ and that the US military is ‘raring to go’ as JD Vance departs for eleventh‑hour talks in Pakistan.
The US President told CNBC he had no intention of prolonging the two‑week ceasefire with Tehran as the deadline approaches, insisting Washington now holds the upper hand and is “going to end up with a great deal”.
Fresh negotiations in Islamabad are already overshadowed by uncertainty, set against a tense stand‑off in the Strait of Hormuz that continues to disrupt global shipping and unsettle energy markets.
The effective closure of the critical supply route during the conflict has inflicted a global economic shock and sent energy prices soaring.
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, who has been holding discussions with counterparts aimed at safeguarding the strategic waterway, has described it as “a critical diplomatic moment” in the crisis.
US Vice President JD Vance will again lead the American delegation while Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf has been tipped as Tehran’s chief negotiator.
The timing of the talks has not been confirmed, and the White House said Mr Vance was still in Washington on Tuesday afternoon.
Threatening to resume strikes if a deal is not struck with Iran soon, Mr 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.”
Mr Trump also said he did not want to extend the current ceasefire, which he said runs out on Wednesday. He told CNBC: “I don’t want to do that. We don’t have that much time.”
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 “regime change” and said those now in charge were “much more rational”. Mr Trump said: “I think we’re in a very strong negotiating position to do what other presidents should have done during a 47-year period.”
Meanwhile, Mr Qalibaf has 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”.
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In the UK, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer held talks with ministers and officials on the Government’s work to ease pressures on the public caused by the conflict.
The Middle East Response Committee discussed ongoing contingency planning such as work with fuel suppliers, airlines and international counterparts, a Government spokesperson said.
They also talked about diplomacy to support negotiations between the US and Iran, military planning as part of the post-war mission to keep the Strait of Hormuz open co-led with France, and wider measures such as efforts to weaken the link between gas and electricity prices.
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