AXIOS: U.S. Requests Iran to Accept 20-Year Uranium Enrichment Suspension, Iran Dissatisfied with Negotiations and U.S. Press Conference

BlockBeats News, April 14, according to Axios, citing a U.S. official and a knowledgeable source, the U.S. proposed during last weekend's negotiations that Iran accept a 20-year suspension of uranium enrichment. Iran, however, countered with a shorter "single-digit" timeframe as a counterproposal. A source familiar with the matter said, "The U.S. proposed at least 20 years, along with various other restrictions." The U.S. also demanded that Iran remove all highly enriched uranium from its territory. According to two sources, Iran expressed willingness to replace this with a "supervised dilution process." Sources indicated that the primary sticking point preventing an agreement is the disagreement over Iran's nuclear program, particularly whether Tehran would agree to cease uranium enrichment and relinquish its existing stockpile. Mediators from Pakistan, Egypt, and Turkey are currently working to bridge the remaining differences, aiming to reach a peace agreement before the ceasefire expires on April 21. Although no agreement has been reached yet, Iran believed by Sunday morning that they were close to a preliminary deal and were caught off guard by Vance's press conference. The Vice President did not hint at an agreement being close but instead criticized Iran and announced that the U.S. delegation would leave Islamabad. A knowledgeable source said, "The Iranians were very upset about that press conference."