Iran yielded, but Trump still refused
According to sources from the three parties involved—Iran, the U.S., and Pakistan—the New York Times reported: Iran proposed, during negotiations in Islamabad, to suspend uranium enrichment for five years—a significant concession compared to the U.S. initial demand of twenty years. Yet Trump still rejected it.
No matter how you calculate the numbers, it just doesn’t add up.
First, consider Iran’s position. In June last year, joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes destroyed Iran’s primary uranium enrichment facilities. According to assessments by the Arms Control Association, rebuilding a complete enrichment capability from zero would take several years at minimum. A five-year suspension merely maintains the status quo—it is not a genuine relinquishment. What Iran is offering is a hand already weakened by damage.
Now examine Trump’s bottom line. The U.S. has drawn a red line: complete cessation of uranium enrichment, dismantling of major enrichment facilities, and removal of high-enriched uranium stockpiles out of Iran. Currently, Iran holds approximately 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%—not far from weapons-grade levels at 90%. Washington’s assessment is that accepting any form of "suspension" would amount to implicitly recognizing Iran’s enrichment rights as legitimate. This precedent cannot be allowed.
Therefore, the crux of the deadlock isn’t about five years versus twenty—it lies in two incompatible frameworks: Tehran views uranium enrichment as a matter of national sovereignty, while Washington regards any enrichment capacity as an inherent threat.
What came back from Islamabad was only one sentence from Vance: “The ball is in Iran’s court.”
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1862420530854920/
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