Vance's Pakistan trip on hold as Iran refuses to commit to peace talks

Source: msn/Axios

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Vice President Vance's planned departure for Islamabad was delayed for hours Tuesday as Iran's leadership remained divided over whether to participate in a new round of peace talks, according to U.S. officials and sources with knowledge of the situation.

Why it matters: With the ceasefire scheduled to expire, every hour Vance spends in Washington is an hour closer to a resumption of hostilities. Iran has yet to decide whether it's coming to the table at all.

One key holdup is an internal dispute in Tehran over whether to participate in the talks as long as the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports continues.

State of play: President Trump told Bloomberg Monday the ceasefire runs until Wednesday evening, but Pakistan's information minister put the deadline at Tuesday around 8pm ET. Either way, Trump made clear Tuesday morning he doesn't want to extend it.

"We don't have that much time ... Iran can make themselves into a strong nation again if they make a deal," Trump told CNBC.

"I expect to be bombing because I think that's a better attitude to go in with," he said when asked what happens if there's no deal by Tuesday night. "But we're ready to go. I mean, the military is raring to go."

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/vance-to-travel-to-pakistan-on-tuesday-for-iran-talks-sources-say/ar-AA21lMH9

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The theater of the absurd. They are ad-libbing their way through this whole thing on this TACO Tuesday.