Vance Trip for Iran Peace Talks Delayed, Summoned to White House
Vice President JD Vance was expected to board a plane and lead a U.S. negotiating team in talks in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, but was unexpectedly called back to the White House on Tuesday amid uncertainty over Iran’s participation.
CNN’s Alayna Treene reported that Vance will not go to Islamabad as planned, but he will go to policy meetings at the White House on Tuesday. Sources told Treene that it is still unclear if Vance’s trip will happen at all.
“We don’t know if this trip is definitely off,” she told The Situation Room anchors Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown. “All we do know is that it is definitely delayed and that we should expect to see now the vice president at the White House for meetings today, not leaving this morning on that plane as we had previously reported.”
Vance flew to Pakistan earlier this month to lead talks in Islamabad along with special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner. The VP said the Iranians refused to agree to the main point the Americans were seeking — an “affirmative commitment” the country will not pursue nuclear weapons.
The meeting failed to result in a deal being made
The meeting failed to result in a deal being made.
“The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement,” Vance said at the time. “And I think that’s bad news for Iran, much more than it’s bad news for the United States of America.”
Since the U.S. started blocking ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports, U.S. Central Command said on Tuesday that U.S. forces have told 28 ships to turn around or go back to port.
official declined to say whether any ships have entered Iranian ports, but they stated that, if any have, they would be unable to get past the blockade in the Gulf of Oman when they leave
A U.S. official declined to say whether any ships have entered Iranian ports, but they stated that, if any have, they would be unable to get past the blockade in the Gulf of Oman when they leave.
The two-week ceasefire between the U.S., Israel, and Iran is about to end, but it’s still not clear if Iranian officials will come to Islamabad to talk.
The Pakistani information minister, Attaullah Tarar, said as of 7:30 p.m. Pakistani time (10:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern time), a “formal response from [the] Iranian side about confirmation of delegation to attend Islamabad Peace Talks is still awaited.”
However, Tarar did say Pakistani mediators were in “constant touch” with the Iranians and emphasized the talks were “critical.”
However, Tarar did say Pakistani mediators were in “constant touch” with the Iranians and emphasized the talks were “critical.”
In a bad sign for negotiations, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian criticized Trump and the negotiations in a post on X, writing, “The level of understanding and comprehension of the requesters from Iran regarding their presence in Islamabad is even lower than Trump’s level of understanding and comprehension…!”
U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker, who heads up the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, met with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday to discuss diplomatic efforts to end the Iran war, which Pakistan has spearheaded for weeks.
Dar “underscored Pakistan’s consistent emphasis on dialogue and diplomacy as the only viable means to address challenges and achieve lasting regional peace and stability,” the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a readout of the meeting posted on X
Dar “underscored Pakistan’s consistent emphasis on dialogue and diplomacy as the only viable means to address challenges and achieve lasting regional peace and stability,” the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a readout of the meeting posted on X. “He stressed the need for engagement between the United States and Iran, urged both sides to consider extending the ceasefire, and to give dialogue and diplomacy a chance.”
President Trump has indicated he does not want to extend the ceasefire, hoping instead for a permanent solution.
“I don’t want to do that. We don’t have that much time,” Mr. Trump told CNBC about extending the two-week ceasefire, which he has said will end Wednesday. “Iran can get themselves on a very good footing if they make a deal. They can make themselves into a strong nation again, a wonderful nation again.”
Acting AG Blanche Fires Back at Obama’s DOJ Criticism
Acting AG Blanche Fires Back at Obama’s DOJ Criticism
Posted July 21, 2026
Former President Barack Obama sharply criticized the Trump administration this week over what he described as growing political influence inside the United States Department of Justice, prompting an aggressive response from Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defending both the administration’s prosecutions and President Donald Trump’s authority over the executive branch.
The escalating public dispute comes as the Justice Department faces mounting scrutiny over a series of criminal investigations and indictments involving several longtime Trump critics and political adversaries, including former FBI Director James Comey.
Obama raised the issue during an interview with Stephen Colbert on CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that aired Monday night.
“The White House shouldn’t be able to direct the attorney general to go around prosecuting whoever,” Obama said during the interview. “The idea is that the attorney general is the people’s lawyer. It’s not the president’s consigliere.”
Obama suggested the principle of DOJ independence may ultimately need to be codified into law by Congress, arguing that the justice system risks becoming politicized if presidents are perceived as directly targeting political opponents through federal prosecutions.
The comments immediately triggered pushback from the Trump administration.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson accused Obama of hypocrisy, arguing that his administration played a central role in the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation.
“Barack Hussein Obama is the king of weaponization,” Jackson said in a statement, referencing declassified documents related to the FBI’s Russia probe.
But the administration’s most extensive response came Wednesday from Blanche during an interview with CBS News in Phoenix.
Blanche forcefully rejected accusations that the DOJ is engaged in political retaliation and defended the president’s constitutional authority over the executive branch.
“Article Two says, ‘the executive power shall be vested in the President of the United States of America,’” Blanche said while holding a pocket copy of the Constitution during the interview. “It does not say that the Attorney General stands off to the side.”
Blanche emphasized that the attorney general serves within the executive branch and argued that presidents are fully entitled to direct priorities involving law enforcement, immigration, drugs, and national security.
“To the extent that President Trump calls me and says that he thinks we have a problem in this country, whether it’s the scourge of drugs, illegal immigration, every American wants him to do that,” Blanche said. “And he should.”
The acting attorney general also dismissed accusations that the DOJ is pursuing politically motivated cases against Trump critics.
“We are absolutely doing nothing but what we should be doing at the Department of Justice,” Blanche said. “I wake up with a very clean conscience every morning.”
The public clash comes amid multiple high-profile investigations involving Trump adversaries.
Most notably, Comey was recently indicted after prosecutors alleged a 2025 Instagram post featuring seashells arranged to form the numbers “86 47” constituted a threat against Trump, the 47th president. Prosecutors argue “86” is commonly understood slang meaning “to eliminate” or “get rid of.”
Blanche defended the case, arguing threats against the president must be treated seriously given recent assassination attempts and escalating political extremism.
Last year, Trump publicly urged then-Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue prosecutions against Comey, James, and Sen. Adam Schiff, writing on social media that “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED.”
Blanche declined to discuss private conversations with Trump when asked whether the president personally directed prosecutions.
“But rest assured,” Blanche said, “he has much better, bigger and important things to do than to worry about me doing my job.”
Blanche also turned Democrats’ criticism back against them by pointing to the multiple criminal prosecutions Trump himself faced before returning to office, including cases brought by state prosecutors in New York and Georgia as well as federal investigations overseen by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
“So I welcome criticism. Let’s go,” Blanche said. “But if you’re sitting in a glass house, you ought not throw stones.”
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