US proposed 20-year pause on Iran’s nuclear program in Pakistan talks

The U.S. proposed a 20-year halt to Iran’s nuclear program in recent talks in Pakistan, according to multiple reports.

Sources close to the talks told The New York Times that a two-decade “suspension” of Iranian nuclear activity was suggested by the U.S. in the weekend negotiations. Iran responded with their own plan of stopping nuclear activity for, at most, five years, U.S. and Iranian officials told the Times.

Following a long day of negotiations with Iran over the weekend, Vice President Vance said no progress had been made in the direction of a peace agreement, calling that “bad news for Iran.”

The vice president said the 21 hours of negotiations with Iran in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad were “substantive.”

“That’s the good news,” he continued. “The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that’s bad news for Iran much more than it’s bad news for the United States of America. So, we go back to the United States having not come to an agreement.”

The vice president was not specific on what offers were put on the table or shot down. However, he said Iran refused to make an “affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon” or “seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon.”

Foundation for Defense of Democracies CEO Mark Dubowitz responded to the reported two-decade proposal by stating that “a 20-year moratorium is a sunset provision.”

“The ban on enrichment must be permanent,” Dubowitz continued in a post on the social platform X on Monday. “The dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear program must be comprehensive and permanent.”

President Trump in 2018 withdrew the U.S. from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) negotiated under former President Obama. In the JCPOA, Iran had to dismantle its nuclear program so it could receive sanctions relief.

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