JD Vance Concludes Islamabad Negotiations Without Iran Ceasefire Deal

JD Vance and Marco Rubio Lead High-Stakes Negotiations in Islamabad

The involvement of Vice President JD Vance raised international hopes that weekend negotiations in Pakistan would solidify an uneasy ceasefire and end the ongoing war. President Donald Trump’s most high-profile war skeptic traveled 18 hours to meet with Iran’s negotiating team in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital. After engaging in discussions for more than 20 hours, Vance emerged Sunday morning lacking both sleep and a deal to end the war, ahead of the long journey back home.

Negotiations are being headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance, according to the president. U.S. vice-president JD Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were expected to lead negotiations on Saturday with Abbas Araqchi.

Abbas Araqchi Arrives in Oman as Strait of Hormuz Tensions Escalate

While U.S. and Iranian officials maintained contact through diplomatic channels, Iran’s foreign minister arrived in Oman on Saturday to discuss arrangements for the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media said, with Washington seeking a public pledge of free, secure transit. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said on Saturday that foreign minister Abbas Araqchi had arrived in Oman. The country is helping to mediate an end to a war that has spread insecurity in the Gulf and raised prices around the world since the US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran on February 28th.

Washington has pressed Tehran for a public pledge ensuring free and secure transit through the vital shipping corridor. The Iranian regime was previously charging some tankers millions of dollars to pass through the global shipping choke point, according to a report from Iran International. Tehran said the route remained under its control and that it is allowed to charge ships moving through it, upending decades of precedence considering the strait an international waterway. In response, the US continues to urge mariners to travel on a southern route through Oman’s territorial waters to avoid Iranian waters and the commands of its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which has angered Tehran and sparked the attacks in the strait.

Donald Trump Announces Oil-Related Present and Discusses Nuclear Stance

President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced Iran wants to “make a dealwith the U.S., noting the country's leadership gave the U.S. asignificant prize” related to the Strait of Hormuz and the flow of oil. While speaking to reporters in the White House Oval Office, Trump said Iranian leadership sent the gift on Monday, and it arrived on Tuesday.

“They’re going to make a deal. They did something [Monday] that was amazing, actually. They gave us a present. The present arrived today, and it was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money.”

President Donald Trump

Trump said he could not disclose what the gift was, but said it was oil and gas-related and was connected to the Strait of Hormuz, adding the unspecified present was very significant. That meant one thing to me — we're dealing with the right people, Trump said. … It was a very nice thing they did. … They said they were going to do it, and it happened. And they're the only ones that could have done it. When asked about control of the Strait of Hormuz, he said the U.S. will have control of anything we want.

They can't have certain things, Trump said. It starts with no nuclear weapons, and they've agreed to that. … They're not going to have enrichment — any of those things. … We are in about the best bargaining position. We're way ahead of schedule.

Funerals, Threats, and Upcoming Washington Visits

Diplomatic efforts unfold against a backdrop of severe political friction and escalating rhetoric. President Donald said on Friday the US and Iran had agreed to continue talks despite an escalation of hostilities this week, while also declaring an end to the ceasefire reached between the two sides, though no attacks were reported on Friday or early Saturday. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said on Saturday that avenging his slain predecessor and father was the demand of the nation and “must certainly” take place, according to a written message released on his Telegram account. Khamenei issued the message on the occasion of funeral ceremonies for his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, held months after he was killed in the US-Israeli air strikes on February 28th.

Trump threatened Iran after calls for his killing at the funeral of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. During Khamenei’s funeral, mourners held posters or banners calling for him to be killed, along with Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu. A thousand missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. The US president said his comments followed threats to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate him, adding that the US military would completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran – PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!

Amid these developments, Netanyahu’s office earlier said the Israeli prime minister will visit Washington on Monday and hold talks with Trump on Tuesday, July 25, 2026.