Vice President JD Vance says the current ceasefire with Iran is “fragile” but could hold if Tehran negotiates in good faith.
Vance made the comments during a conference in Hungary on Wednesday, saying President Donald Trump won’t hesitate to use drastic tools if Iran breaks the truce. Trump has agreed to a two-week ceasefire predicated on Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
“This is why I say this is a fragile truce,” Vance said. “You have people who clearly want to come to the negotiating table and work with us to find a good deal, and then you have people who are lying about even the fragile truce that we’ve already struck.”
“If the Iranians are willing in good faith to work with us, I think we can make an agreement,” Vance continued. “If they’re going to lie, if they’re going to cheat, if they’re going to try to prevent even the fragile truce that we’ve set up from taking place, that they’re not going to be happy.”
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“What the president has also shown is that we still have clear military, diplomatic and, maybe most importantly, we have extraordinary economic leverage,” he added. “So the President has told us not to use those tools. He’s told us to come to the negotiating table. But if the Iranians don’t do the exact same thing, they’re going to find out that the president of the United States is not one to mess around. He’s impatient. He’s impatient to make progress.”
News of the truce came Tuesday night, barely an hour before Trump’s 8 p.m. ET deadline, at which he had threatened to begin targeting Iranian energy infrastructure.
The president said the postponement is subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to “the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz.”
The administration also received a 10-point proposal from Iran for a wider peace deal, and officials “believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate.”
The Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran responded in a statement, thanking Pakistani mediators for their “tireless efforts” to end the war in the region, and agreeing to cease defensive operations if attacks against Iran are halted.
For a period of two weeks, Iran said safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz “will be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces” and with “due consideration of technical limitations.”
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Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote in a statement the ceasefire will apply “everywhere,” including Lebanon, effective immediately.
“I warmly welcome the sagacious gesture and extend deepest gratitude to the leadership of both the countries and invite their delegations to Islamabad on Friday, 10th April 2026, to further negotiate for a conclusive agreement to settle all disputes,” Sharif said. “Both parties have displayed remarkable wisdom and understanding and have remained constructively engaged in furthering the cause of peace and stability. We earnestly hope, that the ‘Islamabad Talks’ succeed in achieving sustainable peace and wish to share more good news in coming days!”
Further talks between the U.S. and Iran are set to begin on Friday.
Fox News’ Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
