Vice President JD Vance will lead the US negotiating team in talks that will take place in Islamabad on Saturday morning, the White House announces.
Vance will be joined by US President Donald Trump’s top envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, press secretary Karoline Leavitt says during a press briefing.
Previous reports had claimed the talks would be on Friday and that Vance may not attend for security reasons.
Asked about security concerns regarding sending Vance to Pakistan, Leavitt says the administration fully trusts the US Secret Service to keep the vice president and the entire negotiating team safe.
Iran is said to prefer Vance to lead negotiations on behalf of the US, accusing Witkoff and Kushner of misrepresenting Tehran’s positions. Vance is also one of the only administration officials who is reported to have opposed launching the war against Iran.
Leavitt does not say whether the negotiations will be direct or through mediators, as the Iranians tend to prefer.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, April 8, 2026
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
