US reportedly asked Iran to freeze uranium enrichment for 20 years

The US asked Iran to freeze its uranium enrichment activities for 20 years during talks held in Pakistan, Israeli media reported Sunday.

The reports said that during negotiations in Islamabad aimed at securing a lasting ceasefire, Washington offered to end attacks and release part of Iran’s frozen funds.

In return, the US was said to have demanded that Tehran halt uranium enrichment for two decades, export its enriched uranium abroad, and allow free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz without imposing any fees.

The reports noted that Iranian officials discussed the nuclear issue, but that major disagreements remained between the sides.

US Vice President JD Vance had earlier said direct talks with Iran in Islamabad ended without an agreement.

“We have been working on this for 21 hours and held a number of important meetings with the Iranians. That’s the good news. The bad news is that we were unable to reach an agreement,” Vance said.

Iranian media, meanwhile, said the failure to reach a framework agreement in the talks was due to what it described as excessive US demands.

Washington and Tehran, after agreeing on a two-week ceasefire last week, held rare direct talks on Saturday to end the war that started on Feb. 28. The talks, however, ended early Sunday without any agreement.

*Writing by Merve Berker