"US Demands 20-Year Uranium Enrichment Halt; Iran Offers Only 5 Years"

Reports have emerged that the United States, during ceasefire negotiations with Iran held in Pakistan for over 20 hours on April 11 (local time), demanded that Iran halt uranium enrichment for 20 years. This indicates a softening of the U.S.'s previous demands.

On April 13, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and the New York Times (NYT), citing sources familiar with the matter, reported on these developments.

According to the WSJ, the United States planned to ease sanctions if Iran accepted this demand. However, Iran counterproposed suspending uranium enrichment not for 20 years, but for "several years."

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The NYT, citing two senior Iranian officials and one U.S. official, reported that Iran reiterated its proposal to suspend nuclear activity for only up to five years. Iran had previously made a similar proposal during nuclear talks with the United States in Geneva this past February, which collapsed prior to the U.S. attack.

The suspension of Iran's nuclear material production has always been the most critical agenda item in negotiations between the two countries. The United States used this as the justification to launch a war against Iran.

The NYT analyzed that the fact that the U.S. and Iran are currently negotiating over a temporary, rather than permanent, suspension of nuclear activity suggests there may be room for the two sides to reach an agreement.

Iran maintains that it will not relinquish its right to produce nuclear fuel independently under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). If it agrees to a temporary suspension, Iran could claim it has preserved this right.

If the Trump Administration agrees with Iran on a temporary suspension of nuclear activity, this could resemble the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), which was signed by the previous Obama Administration but abrogated by President Trump during his first term.

President Trump criticized the JCPOA as a "terrible and one-sided agreement that should never have been made," mainly because it included a sunset clause that gradually eased restrictions on Iran's uranium enrichment, with all restrictions set to be lifted by 2031.

However, while the JCPOA did not require Iran to completely halt activities like uranium enrichment and allowed limited levels, if the Trump Administration enforces a "complete suspension," even for several years, it would mean gaining additional time.

Robert Malley, who participated in past JCPOA negotiations, told the NYT, "If they can get Iran to suspend (nuclear activities) even for a few years, that would be better than what we got from the JCPOA."

Another contentious issue is the U.S. demand that Iran export approximately 970 pounds (about 440 kg) of uranium it has enriched so far. Iran has insisted on keeping the uranium within the country, and instead proposed diluting it so that it cannot be used for developing nuclear weapons.

JD Vance, Vice President and head of the U.S. delegation, stated at a press conference after the talks concluded that while the U.S. showed flexibility, Iran did not demonstrate a willingness to forgo developing nuclear weapons.

In an interview with Fox News on April 13, Vice President Vance said, "The important question from now on is whether Iran will show sufficient flexibility," adding that Iran "did not show enough flexibility" during the talks in Pakistan.

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