'Don't play us': US vice president Vance warns Iran as he heads to Pakistan for talks

US vice president JD Vance on Friday issued a sharp warning to Iran saying, "don't play us," as he departed for Islamabad in Pakistan to lead high-stakes negotiations aimed at ending weeks of Middle East conflict."We're looking forward to the negotiation. I think it's gonna be positive. We'll of course see," the US VP said while boarding Air Force Two. Citing Donald Trump, Vance said, "As the President of the United States said, if the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we're certainly willing to extend the open hand.""If they're gonna try and play us, then they're gonna find that the negotiating team is not that receptive. We're going to try to have a positive negotiation," he added.The visit comes after the White House announced on Wednesday that Trump has tasked Vance with helping secure a resolution to the war that began six weeks ago, even as the US president publicly escalated rhetoric, including threats to wipe out Iran’s "whole civilization."Vance said Trump had given the delegation "some pretty clear guidelines" on how the talks should proceed, though he did not elaborate.

High-level delegation heads to Pakistan

Vance is leading the US delegation to Pakistan for mediated talks, joined by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and former senior adviser Jared Kushner.

The White House has provided limited details on whether the talks will be direct or indirect, but officials say teams from the National Security Council, State Department and Pentagon will also support the negotiations.

The fragile ceasefire?

The talks come amid a fragile two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran that has created a narrow window for diplomacy. However, major differences remain.Iran has insisted that any truce must include an end to Israeli military operations in Lebanon, while Israel and the US have rejected linking the two.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maintained that operations against Hezbollah will continue.At the same time, Washington has demanded that Iran ensure the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route that Tehran had restricted amid escalating tensions.Trump on Thursday criticised Iran’s handling of maritime traffic, saying it was "doing a very poor job" of allowing oil tankers through, adding on social media, "That is not the agreement we have!"Vance’s trip marks a rare moment of high-level engagement between the US and Iran.

Direct contact between the two countries has been limited since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, with only occasional breakthroughs such as talks during the Obama administration.Despite the diplomatic push, analysts say the path to a lasting agreement remains steep, with both sides under political pressure and key issues, including regional conflicts and nuclear concerns that are still unresolved.For now, the Islamabad talks are being seen as a critical test of whether the fragile ceasefire can hold and evolve into a more durable peace.