JD Vance Rushed To WH For Emergency Meetings; Trip To Middle East Abruptly Canceled

Vice President JD Vance abruptly scrapped plans to fly to Islamabad on Tuesday to lead high-stakes talks with Iran, instead returning to the White House as uncertainty swirled over whether Tehran would even show up.

CNN’s Alayna Treene reported that Vance will remain in Washington for policy meetings, with the trip now in limbo.

“We don’t know if this trip is definitely off,” she told “The Situation Room” anchors Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown. “All we do know is that it is definitely delayed and that we should expect to see now the vice president at the White House for meetings today, not leaving this morning on that plane as we had previously reported.”

The sudden change comes just weeks after Vance traveled to Islamabad alongside special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump adviser Jared Kushner for earlier negotiations that went nowhere.

At the time, Vance made clear the sticking point: Iran refused to make what he called an “affirmative commitment” to abandon nuclear weapons ambitions.

“The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement,” Vance said. “And I think that’s bad news for Iran, much more than it’s bad news for the United States of America.”

Meanwhile, pressure on Tehran is ramping up. United States Central Command said Tuesday that U.S. forces have already turned back 28 ships trying to enter or leave Iranian ports as part of a growing maritime blockade.

RELATED: Democrat Under Fire For Sick Attack Against JD Vance And His Children

A U.S. official declined to say whether any vessels slipped through, but said any that did would be blocked from exiting through the Gulf of Oman.

All of it is unfolding with the clock ticking. The two-week ceasefire between the United States, Israel and Iran is set to expire, and it remains unclear whether Iranian officials will even attend the Pakistan-brokered talks.

Pakistan’s information minister, Attaullah Tarar, said a “formal response from [the] Iranian side about confirmation of delegation to attend Islamabad Peace Talks is still awaited.”

He added that mediators remain in “constant touch” with Tehran and stressed the talks are “critical.”

But signs out of Iran suggest the talks could be dead on arrival. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian took a swipe at both President Donald Trump and the negotiations themselves.

MORE ON JD: Vance’s Fraud Task Force Catches Hundreds Of Fake ‘Hospices’ Red-Handed

“The level of understanding and comprehension of the requesters from Iran regarding their presence in Islamabad is even lower than Trump’s level of understanding and comprehension…”

On the ground in Islamabad, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker met with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar to advance diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.

Dar “underscored Pakistan’s consistent emphasis on dialogue and diplomacy as the only viable means to address challenges and achieve lasting regional peace and stability,” according to Pakistan’s foreign ministry. “He stressed the need for engagement between the United States and Iran, urged both sides to consider extending the ceasefire, and to give dialogue and diplomacy a chance.”

Trump, however, is signaling patience is running out.

“I don’t want to do that. We don’t have that much time,” Trump told CNBC about extending the two-week ceasefire. “Iran can get themselves on a very good footing if they make a deal. They can make themselves into a strong nation again, a wonderful nation again.”

Download the FREE Trending Politics App to get the latest news FIRST >>