As US-Iran talks in Islamabad loom, US President Donald Trump has issued fresh threats to Iran on Friday.
Shortly after US Vice President JD Vance boarder Airforce two for Islamabad, Trump, in a telephonic interview with The New York Times, said, “We have a reset going. We’re loading up the ships with the best ammunition, the best weapons ever made — even better than what we did previously and we blew them apart.”
“We’re going to find out in about 24 hours. We’re going to know soon,” added Trump.
While US Vice President JD Vance, along with the United States Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and the President’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, are set to negotiate with Iran in Islamabad on Saturday morning.
Just hours before the first round of negotiations, after a 2-week ceasefire, Trump has threatened Iran, saying, “We have a reset going. We’re loading up the ships with the best ammunition, the best weapons ever made — even better than what we did previously, and we blew them apart,”
“And if we don’t have a deal, we will be using them, and we will be using them very effectively,” added the US President.
While uncertainty clouds the prospects of talks between Iran and the United States, after Tehran reiterated that key preconditions must be met before negotiations can begin.
Speaker of Iran’s Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said in a post on X that two measures agreed upon by both sides remain unfulfilled, stressing that progress on these issues is essential before any dialogue can take place. According to Ghalibaf, a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of blocked Iranian assets are the primary conditions that must be satisfied ahead of the talks in Islamabad.
“Two of the measures mutually agreed upon between the parties have yet to be implemented: a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of Iran’s blocked assets prior to the commencement of negotiations. These two matters must be fulfilled before negotiations begin,” Ghalibaf stated.
Tehran asserts that the truce also entails a halt to Israeli military operations in Lebanon.
However, both Washington and Israel maintain that the ceasefire does not extend to Hezbollah‑related targets, a divergence that has deepened mistrust and increased the risk of the truce collapsing.
Iranian state media report that Tehran’s delegation will be led by Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a central figure in Iran’s wartime leadership who has assumed strategic responsibilities since the early phase of the hostilities. Iran has yet to formally confirm whether senior officials such as Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf have travelled to Pakistan for the negotiations, as reported by state outlets.
