Washington DC: US Vice President JD Vance on Friday departed for Pakistan's capital of Islamabad to take part in talks with Iran, expressing optimism about the negotiations while warning against any lack of sincerity from Tehran.
Addressing reporters before departure, Vance said the United States is open to constructive engagement if Iran approaches the discussions in good faith.
"We're looking forward to the negotiation. I think it's going to be positive. As the president of the United States said, if the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we're certainly willing to extend the open hand," he said.
However, he cautioned that Washington would not respond favourably if Iran attempts to act in bad faith during the talks.
"If they're going to try to play us, then they're going to find that the negotiating team is not that receptive," Vance added.
Vance will be leading the US delegation to Islamabad for talks this weekend.
According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, along with Vance, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, will be part of the delegation.
The first round of those talks will take place on Saturday morning, local time.
The meeting between the two sides is set to take place to end the over-month-long conflict in West Asia and follows an immediate ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran for two weeks.
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According to Iranian state media reports, the Iranian delegation will be led by Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a central figure in Tehran's wartime leadership structure who has taken on strategic responsibilities since the early phase of the conflict.
However, Iran's state media is yet to confirm if senior officials such as Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Bager Ghalibaf have travelled to Pakistan to negotiate with the United States.
Meanwhile, Pakistani media confirmed the arrival of the Iranian delegation for the talks to be held tomorrow.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
