Moments after Vice President JD Vance and a small team departed for Pakistan Friday to begin negotiations with Iran to bring about an end to the war, President Donald Trump targeted Iranian officials with a series of inflammatory remarks on social media, potentially blunting peace talks before they’ve even started.
“The Iranians don’t seem to realize they have no cards, other than a short term extortion of the World by using International Waterways,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!”
The Trump administration tentatively agreed to a two-week ceasefire earlier this week based on a proposal submitted by Tehran, though multiple violations of the supposed terms of the agreement have occurred in the days – and even hours – since it was reached.
For weeks, Trump has reportedly been looking for a way out of the conflict he initiated as his administration’s war objectives grow increasingly out of reach.