US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that his administration would dispatch a new team of negotiators to Pakistan to resume discussions with Iran aimed at ending the ongoing conflict.
Confusion surrounded the composition of the US delegation after it emerged that Vice President James Vance—who had led the previous round of talks in Islamabad without reaching an agreement—would not be part of the upcoming trip.
Earlier comments from senior officials had suggested he would attend.
Addressing the situation, Trump told ABC News, “It’s only because of security,” rejecting suggestions that Vance had been sidelined over doubts about his negotiating ability with Tehran. He added, “JD’s great.”
Mixed signals from administration officials further clouded the issue. Washington’s envoy to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, had earlier said on ABC’s “This Week”: “As the president announced, the vice president with our key negotiators looks like they are going to head out for another round.”
Meanwhile, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNN’s “State of the Union” that Vance had been “leading the negotiations from the start,” though he stopped short of confirming his participation in the new round.
As a result, it remained unclear who would head the US delegation expected to begin talks on Monday.
During the previous negotiations held April 11–12, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner were part of the team.
Earlier Sunday, Trump escalated rhetoric against Iran in a post on his Truth Social platform, accusing Tehran of committing a “Total Violation” of a two-week ceasefire following reported attacks in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.
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He warned of severe consequences if a deal is not reached.
Trump said he was offering Iran “a reasonable deal” and if Tehran refuses, “the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran. NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!”
“They’ll come down fast, they’ll come down easy and, if they dont take the DEAL, it will be my Honor to do what has to be done, which should have been done to Iran, by other Presidents, for the last 47 years,” he wrote.
Despite the tensions, Waltz expressed optimism that the upcoming talks could yield a major breakthrough, describing the potential outcome as “incredibly consequential.”
The situation in the Gulf remained volatile, with the Strait of Hormuz still closed as of Sunday. Iran had announced its closure again on Saturday, just a day after indicating that the key shipping route would reopen.
A UK maritime security agency reported that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards fired at a tanker on Saturday.
Separately, security intelligence firm Vanguard Tech said the force had threatened to “destroy” an empty cruise ship attempting to leave the Gulf.
In another incident, the UK agency said it received reports of a vessel struck by an unidentified projectile, which damaged shipping containers but did not trigger a fire.
The current ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran is set to expire on Wednesday.