JD Vance gets ready to walk the Iran tightrope

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JD Vance could lead talks with Iran if they go ahead. The US vice president has spoken with Benjamin Netanyahu about efforts to end the war, and there are reports that he could travel to Islamabad this week to meet with a delegation from Tehran. Vance has been a prominent face of the Trump administration, orchestrating last year’s ambush of Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office and criticising European allies. But he has been uncharacteristically quiet during the Iran war, which is at odds with his isolationist instincts. Vance has long opposed overseas military ventures and once said that attacking Iran was “the most likely and dangerous scenario for provoking World War Three”. Coming out in favour of the war could harm his chances of succeeding Trump in 2028. Now he may represent the best chance for the US to end it.