Vance is headed to negotiations with Iran

[LetMyPeopleVote]

White House officials say the vice president’s private dissent on the Iran war has cost him influence — even as he heads to Islamabad to negotiate a lasting ceasefire.

Link to tweet

https://www.ms.now/news/vance-iran-war-ceasefire-talks-islamabad

Vice President JD Vance heads to Islamabad this weekend in a precarious position: hoping to negotiate a lasting end to a war in Iran he never wanted.

Vance has privately voiced opposition to the war for weeks — to Donald Trump and top White House aides — even as the president has pursued an aggressive military campaign, according to two White House officials granted anonymity to speak candidly about internal dynamics. Now he will lead the U.S. delegation in ceasefire talks with Iran — perhaps the highest-stakes assignment of his political career.....

Vance’s skepticism of foreign entanglements is no secret: He has long opposed U.S. military interventionism, and his unease with the Iran war is widely understood inside the administration.

That skepticism could actually be “advantageous” in the talks, according to a former Trump White House official familiar with internal dynamics. Negotiators on both sides are likely to believe that Vance genuinely wants a permanent ceasefire — which could lend credibility to the American position. ....

Vance, alongside Witkoff and Kushner, is set to meet with Iranian counterparts Saturday in Islamabad for in-person negotiations — the first such talks since a fragile ceasefire took hold.

Vance was not in favor in this war but gave in to trump. Now Vance has to negotiate the real terms of the cease fire. Witkoff and Kushner will not be on any help.

[OLDMDDEM]

1. When the talks fail, Trump can blame Vance. Who didn't see this coming?

[leftstreet]

2. Is Iran sending anyone?

If not, this is just performative

Iran spelled it out pretty clearly - no ceasefire while US/Israel is bombing Lebanon. There's nothing to "negotiate" here.

[Whip-poor-will]

3. clown shown

Send in the clowns

Don't forget the chocolate cake and trump bible .....

[Kid Berwyn]

11. The key shape was thoughtful.

That Ollie North, so thoughtful!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

4. Why Jared Kushner's dealmaking hit a wall with Iran

I almost pity Vance in these negotiations. Vance is the only one who the Iranians will be listening to. Kushner and Witikoff screwed up the last round of negotiations and there are good reasons why Iran will not trust these idiots. Kushner is partners with a number of companies that funded his private equity fund. Bibi is a family friend of the Kushner family. I would not trust either Kushner or Witikoff.

Why Jared Kushner’s dealmaking hit a wall with Iran

Even the Trump administration can do better than the president’s son-in-law — a close friend of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu — to negotiate the end of the Iran war.

www.ms.now/opinion/jare...

— Emma Jean Kitty (@emmajeankitty.bsky.social) 2026-03-31T03:24:59.253Z

https://www.ms.now/opinion/jared-kushner-trump-iran-war-netanyahu-witkoff

But CNN reported that Tehran has indicated it no longer wants to speak with either of Trump’s emissaries, and would prefer Vice President JD Vance — whose support for the war has been muted after decrying foreign interventions for most of his political career. The supposed refusal to talk to Witkoff and Kushner isn’t bizarre. Both are strong supporters and fundraisers for Israel, and Kushner’s 2020 “peace plan” proposal — swiftly rejected by the Palestinians, who were not consulted beforehand — endorsed Israel’s aggressive expansion of settlements in the West Bank. Tehran sees in Kushner and Witkoff not good-faith negotiators, but representing forces in American politics most committed to their downfall.

Kushner, in particular, has specialized in blending his personal, and especially financial, interests — and his deeply pro-Israel and pro-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ideological commitments — with the assignments given to him by his powerful father-in-law. During the first Trump administration, Kushner developed a strong personal bond with the Saudi prime minister and crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, which both men touted as vital assets in a crucial relationship for both countries.

For “MBS,” his relationship with Kushner appeared crucial in securing support from Trump following the atrocious murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi (full disclosure: He was a friend of mine for about 15 years before his heinous assassination). Trump has reportedly said of this support, at a make-or-break time for the crown prince’s political future, “I saved his ass.” For once, Trump was engaging in neither falsehood nor hyperbole. Without the White House batting aside Prince Mohammed’s responsibility — which the Saudi leader later accepted while denying ordering the hit — his father, the king, and the rest of the Saudi elite might have been forced to look for a different successor. The crown prince clearly believed that his close ties to Trump, especially through Kushner, were invaluable.

After Trump lost to Joe Biden in 2020, Kushner set up a private equity investment fund, Affinity Partners. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund, was the first and largest investor in this venture, kicking in $2 billion. .....

Kushner also developed strong ties to Qatar, especially during the boycott of that country by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt. That self-described “Anti-Terrorism Coalition” objected to Qatar’s bankrolling and media support for Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated parties across the Arab world. But as a result, Doha needed help in Washington, and Kushner obliged, helping steer Trump away from his initial impulse to back the quartet and instead side with the Pentagon in calling for an end to the boycott without major concessions from Qatar.

Kushner’s ties to Qatar date back even further, from his catastrophic miscalculation of purchasing 666 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan for an astonishing $1.8 billion. The extraordinary mistake — one of his first major forays into business — threatened to destroy the real estate empire Kushner’s father had built. Eventually, a Canadian company that is partly owned by the Qatari sovereign wealth fund agreed to effectively bail the Kushners out of Jared’s record-breaking blunder by renting the building on disadvantageous terms for almost 100 years. Problem solved.

But Kushner’s strongest Middle East ties are to Netanyahu, a close family friend. When the Israeli prime minister was a mid-level diplomat in New York, he reportedly used to frequently stay overnight at the Kushner home, even bedding down in Jared’s own room, with the young real estate scion dispatched to another quarter.

[underpants]

8. So J. V. Vance is second team.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

9. Vance has to clean up the mess that Kushner and Witikoff made

[UpInArms]

5. The quarterwit (as opposed to a halfwit)

Will be exposed for the incompetent fraud that he is

[Blaukraut]

6. Quite the puff piece about Vance

It’s a perfect balance of Vance being seen as distancing himself from Trump and trying to repair the damage he has caused. All of it while facing the wrath of this volatile president. Very heroic.

Sets him up nicely for succession, however it will take place.

[underpants]

10. It was such a bad idea that even an empty suit Yes Nan like J. V. said so outloud

but then no one’s ideas matter in their echo chamber other than Dear Leader.

[wcmagumba]

7. Wow, t-rump and his gang totally fill me with confidence about the direction our country is headed...

[miyazaki]

12. Such a diplomat he is, insulting their language abilities.

A legend in his own mind.

[purr-rat beauty]

13. Hopefully...

...he won't return

[Cosmocat]

14. sadly, this corrupted halfwit

is a step up from who they had as the leads to this point.

Still in WAY above his head.

They simply do not have the seriousness to actually do the hard work, and which will require a LOT of collaboration with other counties that they have the last 15 months pissing all over, to get any kind of actual functioning agreement.

[usonian]

15. No go. Beard too short, and scraggly.

When my facial hair is far neater and more distinguished, you know he's getting his trim at Four Seasons Total Landscaping.

Put a slob on the job, you will.