US President Donald Trump on Friday evening posted a cryptic message on Truth Social, saying, "World's Most Powerful Reset!!! President DJT". This came hours before the high-stake peace talks between the United States and Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Trump offered no other details. But the timing was unmistakable. The talks between Tehran and Washington are set to begin Saturday morning local time in Islamabad. The US delegation is led by Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
“We won't be receptive if Iran tries to play us,” Vance said ahead of departure, underscoring the firm stance adopted under directives from Trump.
Meanwhile, Iran's delegation, expected to include Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, is anticipated to arrive shortly, though details remain fluid after earlier updates were withdrawn.
It marks the highest-level meeting between the US and Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, a moment with enormous consequences for the Middle East, global energy markets and the world economy.
The talks are the culmination of a dramatic six-week war. On Feb. 28, the US and Israel launched large-scale strikes on Iran, including the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader. Tehran responded by closing the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil flows, sending crude prices surging above $120 a barrel and triggering a global energy crisis. A fragile two-week ceasefire, brokered by Pakistan, was announced on April 8, barely two hours before Trump's own deadline to destroy Iranian infrastructure.
Both sides enter the talks with major differences. Iran's 10-point proposal calls for Iranian oversight of the Strait of Hormuz, the withdrawal of all US combat forces from the Middle East, and the lifting of all sanctions. The United States, meanwhile, is demanding Iran surrender its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, a condition Tehran has not officially accepted.
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Moreover, Trump said that he is "very optimistic" about a peace deal, saying Iran's leaders were "much more reasonable" in private. "They're agreeing to all the things that they have to agree to," he said.
Whether his "reset" post signals a diplomatic breakthrough or is simply just a post, the world will find out when Vance sits across the table from Iranian officials on Saturday morning.
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