President Donald Trump posted a series of aggressive statements on Truth Social that undermined his own vice president’s ongoing peace efforts. This happened while Vice President JD Vance was in Islamabad, Pakistan, leading high-stakes negotiations to end the six-week war with Iran.
Trump’s posts arrived just as a 21-hour negotiation session began. He made no mention of Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, or Jared Kushner, who were all involved in the diplomatic mission. Instead, Trump declared that Iran is losing the conflict, claiming their navy, air force, and anti-aircraft systems are gone.
In one particularly bold post, the 79-year-old president wrote on Truth Social that Iran’s longtime leaders are no longer alive, adding, “praise be to Allah!” According to The Daily Beast, this came at a moment when Vance was serving as the main point of contact for the Iranian delegation.
The U.S. negotiating team appeared divided going into the Islamabad talks
Iran had stated it preferred dealing only with Vance, as they saw previous efforts involving Kushner and Witkoff as a cover for U.S. military intentions. Vance has historically opposed military interventions in the Middle East, making him a more trusted figure for Iran in these talks.
However, internal divisions within the U.S. team were already visible, as Kushner and Witkoff had reportedly floated a softer deal earlier that would have allowed the U.S. to supply Iran with uranium for civilian use, a position at odds with Vance’s firm stance that Iran must have zero uranium enrichment capacity.
It was confirmed that the U.S. and Iran failed to reach a formal agreement after the lengthy sessions. Vance addressed the breakdown at a press conference before departing. He said that while not reaching a deal is bad news, he believes the outcome is more damaging to Iran.
The main sticking point remained the U.S. demand that Iran make a firm commitment to never seek nuclear weapons or the means to build them. If you want to read the full details of what Trump actually wrote in his Easter morning post, it is even more striking than it sounds.
Despite the failure, Vance left the door open for future progress, describing the U.S. proposal as a “final and best offer” that Iran has yet to accept. These were the first face-to-face negotiations between the two nations since 2015, with Pakistan playing a key role as mediator, successfully brokering a two-week ceasefire that made the talks possible.
The situation was made more complicated by events in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran had closed the waterway, when the war began, causing global gas prices to rise sharply. Trump posted on Truth Social that the U.S. is clearing the strait as a favor to allies like Japan, South Korea, and Germany, suggesting those countries lack the courage to do it themselves.
U.S. Central Command confirmed that destroyers began moving through the area on Saturday to begin clearing sea mines, marking the first such passage since the conflict started. Trump also used his posts to promote American crude oil, claiming that oil tankers from various countries are heading to the U.S. to load up on what he called “the sweetest oil and gas anywhere.”
Reports also suggest the president has been handing out pardon promises to White House staff, though the White House has dismissed it as a joke. Adding to the overall tension, Israel conducted strikes on more than 200 targets linked to Hezbollah in Lebanon within the same 24-hour window as the Islamabad negotiations.
The disconnect between Vance’s careful diplomatic approach and Trump’s aggressive public statements is hard to ignore. Whether the proposal left on the table in Islamabad will lead to any further progress remains to be seen.
Published: Apr 12, 2026 07:00 am