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April 10, 2026
Vance to Lead US Delegation on SaturdayBy Barak Ravid
Washington: Vice President JD Vance will head the US negotiating team for the peace talks with Iran on Saturday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday.
It's the highest level meeting between the US and Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution, as ceasefire negotiations hit a crucial tipping point that could lead to the resumption and escalation of the war if the high-stakes talks fail.
This will be the most significant and challenging mission in Vance's political career, testing his line of trying to avoid war with Iran and preferring diplomacy as a way to reach a deal.
Vance said in Budapest on Wednesday that President Trump is "impatient to make progress" with Iran and stressed that if Iranian officials don't engage in good faith "they're going to find out that President Trump is not one to mess around with".
Leavitt said Trump's adviser and son-in-low Jared Kushner and White House envoy Steve Witkoff will also participate in the negotiations.
Iranian state media reports Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is expected to lead Tehran's delegation, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also joining the talks.
Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon generated harsh condemnation from Tehran and claims that it was a breach of the ceasefire.
Araghchi hinted on X that Tehran could abandon the ceasefire if Israeli strikes continue.
"The Iran– US Ceasefire terms are clear and explicit: the US must choose—ceasefire or continued war via Israel. It cannot have both," he said. "The world sees the massacres in Lebanon. The ball is in the US court, and the world is watching whether it will act on its commitments."
A senior American official said the US is not currently concerned that the strikes in Lebanon would jeopardize negotiations.
Leavitt told reporters that "it has been relayed to all parties" that Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire agreement .
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would continue to discuss this, "but for now Lebanon is not included," she added. - Axios
Courtesy Axios
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