While Vice President JD Vance worked to broker peace with Iranian officials in Islamabad, Pakistan, President Donald Trump undermined the delicate diplomacy with a Truth Social post boasting about killing Iranian leaders and invoking Allah.
On the morning of April 11, just as U.S. and Iranian officials sat down for talks, the 79-year-old president 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!” The post did not acknowledge the negotiations Vance was spearheading alongside Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Iran has said it prefers negotiating only with the 41-year-old vice president, reinforcing his role as a more measured voice in efforts to end the war launched Feb. 28.
Internal divisions have plagued the Trump administration’s negotiating team. Vance has been adamant that Iran must have no uranium enrichment capacity, while Kushner and Witkoff have floated a softer deal in which the U.S. would actually supply Iran with uranium for civilian use. Iranian officials have said they view negotiations with Kushner and Witkoff as a front by the Trump administration to trick Iran into thinking they were negotiating in good faith.
Comedian Bill Maher highlighted the awkwardness on HBO’s “Real Time,” noting that Vance once called Trump “reprehensible” and potentially “America’s Hitler” before becoming his 2024 running mate. “That’s who’s at the table over there in Islamabad: Pakistan, Vance, and the Iranians,” the 70-year-old host said.
The vice president, who served in the Marines and built his political reputation on opposition to foreign intervention, has since become one of Trump’s strongest defenders, a sharp reversal from when he described himself as a “never Trumper.”
Trump himself spent April 11 ringside at UFC 327 in Miami while the talks were ongoing, accompanied by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and members of his family. Before leaving for the event, Trump told reporters it “makes no difference” to him whether a deal between Iran and the United States is reached.
The negotiations collapsed on April 12 without reaching an agreement after 21 hours of talks. As Vance delivered the “bad news” from Pakistan, the White House was posting about Trump’s upcoming 80th birthday bash on June 14, which will feature UFC fighters competing on the White House South Lawn in front of an audience of 3,000 to 5,000 VIPs.
The president’s dismissive attitude shifted dramatically after the talks failed. On April 12, Trump announced a U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which went into full effect on the morning of April 13. Iran called the move “piracy,” and oil topped $100 a barrel. 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.”
Trump 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.
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 visited Hungary.
Despite the failure of negotiations and mounting pressure over gas prices, Trump said, “I don’t care if they come back or not. 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.
Trump’s handling of the Iran crisis has drawn criticism for its chaotic approach, including launching the war without congressional authorization and repeatedly undermining his own negotiating team’s efforts. On April 21, Trump extended the ceasefire indefinitely, demanding Iran submit a “unified proposal” while keeping the naval blockade in place. He gave Tehran three to five days to engage, or face resumed attacks. As of late April, a second round of Islamabad talks has failed to materialize, with Iran’s Foreign Ministry saying no meeting with U.S. negotiators is planned. Vance has been sidelined from the next round, with Trump instead sending Witkoff and Kushner after Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf declined to participate.