Yesterday, Trump himself said VP JD Vance was on his way to Pakistan but that turned out not to be true. Now, Axios reports that he’s still in Washington, citing a White House official.
“Additional policy meetings are taking place at the White House today in which the Vice President will participate,” the official said.
Now I think this could be OpSec as Vance doesn’t want to be vulnerable if the ceasefire breaks down but it’s not a great sign.
There were air raid sirens in Israel a short time ago but those were determined to be a false alarm.
The oil market can show you how the sentiment is developing today.
WTI crude oil (May)
Now the New York Times reports: Vance was meant to leave for Iran negotiations this morning his trip was postponed and he is headed to the White House.
From Iran’s Fars: Khezrian, a member of Parliament’s National Security Commission.
“Iran does not intend to participate in negotiations under the current conditions unless those conditions change.”
Now this from Axios:
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are also still in the US. The
plane that was supposed to take them this morning from Miami to Europe and to Pakistan didn’t leave until several minutes ago and is making its way now to Washington DC.
These aren’t good signs as it’s starting to feel like the dance around removing the Iran blockade and who commits to attend first is a real hurdle. That’s not a great start as there are other, more difficult things to sort out next.