Vance Jokes His Two Favourites Are Wife, Pakistan's
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- JD Vance told reporters at the Burgenstock resort in Switzerland, after US-Iran peace talks, that he jokes about having 'an Indian and a Pakistani' in his life — his wife Usha Vance and Pakistani Army chief Asim Munir.
- The talks were mediated by Pakistan and Qatar, with PM Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Munir attending; Vance said the goal was a permanent US-Iran peace deal.
- Vance said he has spoken to Munir more than 'almost anyone else' over the past three months, calling him a 'great diplomat' and saying 'we would not have been here without his statesmanship and military leadership.'
- Vance had already credited Munir and Sharif as 'incredible hosts' and 'incredible statesmen' after the first round of US-Iran talks collapsed in April following 21 hours of negotiations.
- Usha Vance's parents emigrated from Andhra Pradesh; the couple met at Yale Law School in 2010, married in 2014 in a Hindu-Christian interfaith ceremony, and have three children with a fourth on the way.
- Vance sparked controversy last year by saying he hoped Usha might convert to Christianity; she publicly clarified she has no intention of converting.
Why it matters: Vance's remark puts a spotlight on Pakistan's outsized role as the US's go-between with Iran — he says he's spoken to Munir more than almost anyone in three months and credits him with making the current talks possible. That gives a single military leader unusual leverage in a negotiation the US failed to advance after the first round collapsed in April.
Ask SkimNews
