HUNT VALLEY, Md. (TNND) — President Donald Trump confirmed Friday he supports his administration’s reported proposal for Iran to pause part of its nuclear program for the next two decades.
He told reporters aboard Air Force One that he would allow Tehran to stop enriching uranium, which is used in nuclear weapons, as part of a deal to end the war. U.S. negotiators have suggested Iran agree to suspend enrichment to satisfy Trump’s nuclear demands, according to multiple reports.
“Twenty years is enough. But the level of guarantee from them is, in other words, it’s gotta be a real 20 years,” the president said.
The Trump administration has asserted that the war, which began in late February, will not end until Iran stops its nuclear program. Tehran has enriched its uranium to near weapons-grade levels but insisted that the material is for civilian use.
Still, the White House has reportedly demanded Iran pause its activities and hand over the nuclear ingredients before the U.S. ends its blockade of the country’s ports.
“We have to get everything,” Trump told reporters.
The National News Desk has been unable to request comment from Iran’s government.
Tehran has proposed a shorter enrichment pause of 10 to 15 years, according to The New York Times, which cited three Iranian officials. It has also reportedly suggested diluting some of its uranium and transferring the rest to a third country.
It’s unclear whether the two sides will be able to reach a deal without more military action that has threatened an already fragile ceasefire. Heather Williams and Joseph Rodgers, the leaders of a nuclear policy team at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in an analysis last month that distrust has driven a wedge between the U.S. and Iran, who have been at odds for the past several decades.
“The real challenge is not a technical one, such as the status of the stockpile or enrichment capacity,” the researchers wrote. “Rather, it is the deep distrust on both sides that they will uphold their end of any future nuclear bargain, including as part of a peace agreement.”
Trump pulled the U.S. out of a deal in 2015 that restricted Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Tehran later resumed its uranium enrichment, an action Trump cited in justifications for killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several other top officials earlier this year.
The resulting war has hurt both the Iranian and American economies, which have struggled to cope with the conflict-caused shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical Gulf oil passage.
Do you have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at rjlewis@sbgtv.com.