By Humeyra Pamuk
BUDAPEST, April 8 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump is “impatient” about making progress toward ending the Iran war and has instructed his negotiating team to engage the Iranians in good faith, Vice President JD Vance said on Wednesday.
Speaking at an event in Budapest during his trip to Hungary, Vance said a deal was possible if Iran negotiated sincerely, but cautioned that while some parts of the Iranian system were approaching the talks constructively, others were “lying” about the ceasefire. He described the situation as a “fragile truce”.
“The President of the United States has told me – and he’s told the entire negotiating team, secretary of state, the special envoy Steve Witkoff – he said go and work in good faith to come to an agreement,” Vance said.
“He’s impatient. He’s impatient to make progress,” Vance added. “He has told us to negotiate in good faith, and I think if they negotiate in good faith, we will be able to find a deal. But that’s a big if, and ultimately, it’s up to the Iranians how they negotiate. I hope they make the right decision.”
The United States and Iran have agreed to a two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan, potentially halting a six-week-old war that has killed thousands, spread across the Middle East and caused unprecedented disruption to the world’s energy supplies.
Trump announced the agreement late on Tuesday, just two hours before a deadline he had set for Iran to open the blockaded Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of its “whole civilisation”.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he had invited Iranian and U.S. delegations to meet in Islamabad on Friday. The deal is subject to Iran’s agreement to pause its blockade of oil and gas passing through the strait, Trump said.
Vance said under the ceasefire currently in effect, Iran has agreed to open the Strait of Hormuz, but cautioned there were different elements with different approaches within the Iranian system.
“In the response that we’ve seen from various segments of Iran, you have on the one hand, people within Iran who responded very favorably…and then you have some people on social media within their system who are basically lying about what we’ve accomplished militarily…They’re lying about the nature of the ceasefire,” Vance said, adding that this was why he described the truce as “fragile.”
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, said in a statement Tehran would cease counter-attacks and provide safe passage through the waterway – if attacks against it stopped.
If Iranians do not negotiate in good faith, Trump would return to using Washington’s military and economic leverage, Vance said.
“They’re going to find out that the President of the United States is not one to mess around.”
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Ros Russell)
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