A breakthrough US offer to Iran. 20 years without nuclear power in exchange for peace?

The United States has proposed an agreement to Iran that would suspend Tehran's nuclear activities for 20 years, thus allowing Washington to gain time, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

According to sources cited by “NYT”, during Saturday-Sunday negotiations in Islamabad with the participation of US Vice President JD Vance, the American side was to present the concept of suspending all activities related to uranium enrichment for the next 20 years.

In response, according to two Iranian representatives and one US administration source, Iran presented a proposal to suspend nuclear activity for five years. The Iranian proposals were to be similar to those negotiated in December, i.e. before the Israeli and US attacks on Iran began.

Moreover, issues related to unblocking navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and ending Iran's support for terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah were also negotiated in Islamabad. However, the axis of the dispute between Washington and Tehran is the question of how long Iran's nuclear activity should be suspended.

As the New York Times points out, the history of U.S. relations with Iran is full of similar actions aimed at buying time through negotiations, sabotage, the use of cyber tools and sanctions to delay Tehran's nuclear program.

US President Donald Trump said that Iranian representatives called on Monday expressing their willingness to reach an agreement. He stressed that he would never agree to Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. Vice President Vance, in an interview with Fox News, said that “the ball is in Iran's court” and if Washington's conditions to limit Tehran's nuclear ambitions are met, “it could be a very, very beneficial agreement for both countries.”

Currently, there is a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran, which President Trump announced on the night of April 7-8. (PAP)

mad/ap/