JD Vance

Israel monitoring Iran ceasefire talks, is prepared to resume attacks • Over 20 rockets fired from Lebanon toward northern Israel • IDF chief: Southern Lebanon to become a no-go zone for Hezbollah

The US President's remarks come as peace talks between Washington and Tehran are expected to resume on Thursday.

US Vice President JD Vance said that although he was not concerned for his own safety, Kirk's absence made canceling the event at the University of Georgia a possibility.

Speaking at a Turning Point USA event, Vance described talks in Islamabad as unprecedented, adding that meetings "at that level" hadn't occurred between the US and Iran in 47 years.

"We are more inclined to go there," Trump told The New York Post, after reports surfaced of a new round of negotiations between the two countries.

Vance explained that the US discovered that the team would need to return to Tehran “and actually get approval to the terms we had set…either from the supreme leader or somebody else.”

A source involved in the talks said the parties came "very close" to an agreement and were "80% there" before running into decisions that could not be settled on the spot. 

Trump said he didn't want to comment on what would happen if a deal wasn't reached by the end of the ongoing ceasefire, but that "it won't be pleasant for them, let me put it that way."

Meanwhile, Netanyahu says Israel fully backs Trump’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, rejects claims of a rift with Washington, and stresses US demands to halt Tehran's nuclear enrichment program.

The blockade was set to begin at 10 a.m. Eastern Time, which is in the afternoon in Iran. Whether this marks a bold new strategy or a sign the US is grasping at straws remains to be seen.