The collapse of Iran peace talks in Pakistan highlighted deep fractures within President Donald Trump’s foreign policy team, with the president publicly undercutting his own vice president at the most critical juncture of negotiations.
After 21 hours of discussions, the negotiations collapsed on Sunday without agreement. Vice President JD Vance delivered the “bad news” from Pakistan while the White House simultaneously promoted Trump’s upcoming 80th birthday bash on June 14, which will feature UFC fighters competing on the White House South Lawn before an audience of 3,000 to 5,000 VIPs.
The 41-year-old vice president, who served in the Marines and built his political reputation on opposition to foreign intervention, has been attempting to position himself as the reasonable voice in efforts to end the unauthorized war Trump launched against Iran on Feb. 28. Iranian officials have indicated they would prefer negotiating exclusively with Vance, who has long opposed U.S. military interventions in the Middle East.
But Trump undermined those efforts spectacularly. The 79-year-old president launched an incendiary Truth Social tirade on April 11 morning invoking Allah while boasting about killing Iranian leaders, precisely as talks between U.S. and Iranian officials commenced in Islamabad, Pakistan. Trump made no mention whatsoever of the negotiations Vance was spearheading alongside Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
In his post, Trump attacked the media for their “massive Trump Derangement Syndrome,” insisting Iran was “LOSING, and LOSING BIG!” He boasted that Iran’s “Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone” and that “their longtime ‘Leaders’ are no longer with us, praise be to Allah!”
Internal divisions within Trump’s negotiating team have become increasingly apparent. While Vance has insisted Iran must have no uranium enrichment capacity, Kushner and Witkoff have proposed a softer deal in which the U.S. would actually supply Iran with uranium for civilian use. Iranian officials have characterized negotiations with Kushner and Witkoff as a front by the Trump administration to trick Iran into thinking they were negotiating in good faith.
On Friday’s episode of HBO’s “Real Time,” comedian Bill Maher, 70, highlighted the awkwardness of the situation. “That’s who’s at the table over there in Islamabad: Pakistan, Vance, and the Iranians,” the host said, noting that Vance himself once called Trump “reprehensible” and potentially “America’s Hitler.”
Those comments were made before Vance became Trump’s 2024 running mate, when he described himself as a “never Trumper.” The vice president has since become one of Trump’s strongest defenders.
While negotiations were ongoing Saturday night, Trump himself attended UFC 327 in Miami ringside, accompanied by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and members of his family. Before departing for the event, Trump told reporters it “makes no difference” to him whether a deal between Iran and the United States is reached.
That dismissive attitude shifted dramatically following the talks’ failure. On Sunday, Trump announced a U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which went into full effect Monday morning. Oil topped $100 a barrel, and Iran called the move “piracy.” The narrow shipping lane has effectively been closed since the war began. The closure has caused gas prices to spike more in March than in any other month since 1967.
Britain declined to join the blockade, while France announced plans for a multinational navigation mission in the strait. U.S. intelligence also indicated China intends to supply Iran with new air-defense weapons, a prospect Trump warned would give Beijing “big problems.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom seized on Vance’s failed mission to mock the vice president. “JD Vance proves he’s a lightweight twice in 48 hours,” Newsom wrote on X, referencing both the collapsed Iran talks and Vance’s failed attempt to campaign for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who suffered a crushing election defeat days after the vice president’s visit to Hungary.
The president had previously threatened to kill off the entire Iranian civilization if the Strait did not reopen, warning on Truth Social that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if no deal was reached. He later walked back the threat as the U.S. and Iran came to a ceasefire agreement.
Trump’s handling of the Iran crisis has drawn criticism for its chaotic approach. The president launched the war without congressional authorization and has repeatedly undermined his own negotiating team’s efforts.
Despite mounting pressure over gas prices and the failure of negotiations, Trump claimed he was not worried about resuming talks with Iran. “I don’t care if they come back or not,” he said. “If they don’t come back, I’m fine.” Days later, however, Trump said Iranian officials had called him and “want to work a deal,” with Pakistan offering to host a second round of talks. The Wall Street Journal also reported that Trump is weighing a resumption of limited military strikes to pressure Tehran back to the table.