The world suspended in Islamabad, epicenter of negotiations between the United States and Iran.

Observing the personalities of the members of the American and Iranian delegations can give an idea of the conduct of the open discussions held Saturday afternoon in Islamabad.

Arriving first in the capital of Pakistan, J.D. Vance, the American vice president, has been opposed to this war from the beginning. “He was the most hostile American official to this conflict,” said Karim Émile Bitar, research director at Iris and a specialist in the Middle East and US foreign policy. “J.D. Vance eventually fell in line, but he clearly stated that he was against it. Especially since this convert to Catholicism does not want to appear contrary to the positions of Pope Leo XIV.”

The former marine will have to manage the aftermath of a war that has claimed thousands of lives and was launched without a clear strategy or specific goal by his billionaire president. A versatile president who, in an interview on Friday, April 10 with the New York Post, reiterated his threats against Iran. “We start everything over [in case of failure of the discussions],” he wrote on his Truth Social network. “We load the ships with the best ammunition, the best weapons ever built[…]. If there is no agreement, we will use them very efficiently.”

J.D. Vance, who is eyeing the 2028 presidential election, has a lot to gain if he gets an agreement, or a lot to lose. The Republican is accompanied by Steve Witkoff – the real estate investor turned special envoy of the United States to the Middle East – and Jared Kushner, a businessman and son-in-law of Donald Trump, his only official title. Two men without expertise in diplomacy, nuclear weapons, or maritime navigation who, two days before the start of the American-Israeli strikes on February 28, were negotiating with the Iranians on the issue of armaments. It is not surprising that Tehran is wary of this controversial duo.