Mike Waltz said Sunday that the vice president and the administration’s key negotiators are heading out for another round of talks with Iran, with the next meeting set for tomorrow night in Islamabad. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations made the remarks on ABC’s “This Week” as Jonathan Karl pressed him on whether a ceasefire would expire Wednesday if no final deal emerges.
Waltz cast the session as a rare moment in U.S.-Iran diplomacy, saying these are the highest-level engagements between the two sides in 47 years, since Iran first came to power and took 66 Americans hostage. He said President Trump is putting diplomacy first, but added that it is backed by “very real” military power and that the president is prepared to escalate or de-escalate as needed.
The interview also came as Washington keeps the pressure campaign on Tehran in full view. Waltz said Treasury Secretary Bessent announced Operation Economic Fury, part of additional economic measures aimed at Iran’s economy, which he described as being in absolute freefall. He said the administration is pairing that push with what he called a full-court effort at the United Nations, where 135 nations joined the United States in condemning Iran’s attacks on ports, airports, civilian infrastructure and neighborhoods.
Waltz said the diplomatic track is unfolding against a backdrop of military and political strain inside Iran. He said the country’s command and control and government are in “absolute disarray” because of devastating attacks across its leadership, and he pointed to mixed messages from Tehran over the Strait of Hormuz, saying the Iranian foreign minister declared it open before the IRGC said it was closed. “The U.S. Navy and President Trump are ultimately deciding what gets in and out,” he said.
He also used the interview to argue that Iran is more isolated than at any point in recent years and that it cannot and will not ever have a nuclear weapon. Jonathan Karl’s question about Wednesday’s ceasefire deadline hung over the exchange, with the next round of talks now carrying outsized weight as Washington tries to turn pressure, sanctions and military deterrence into a deal that holds.