US negotiators may be packing their bags for Pakistan again, but the deal on the table just got a public thumbs-down from their boss. President Trump told the New York Post on Tuesday that stalled talks with Iran could restart in Islamabad "over the next two days," yet he distanced himself from a key proposal reportedly floated by Vice President JD Vance: a 20-year halt to Iran's uranium enrichment. "I've been saying they can't have nuclear weapons," Trump said. "So I don't like the 20 years." He added that he doesn't want Tehran "to feel like they have a win."
Trump declined to say whether Vance will stay in charge of the team, which also includes envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The Post reports that Trump initially suggested the next round of talks could take place somewhere in Europe, but he called back 30 minutes later to say reporters should stay in Pakistan. Trump praised Pakistan's Field Marshal Gen. Asim Munir, the army chief who helped mediate talks over the weekend. "He's fantastic, and therefore it's more likely that we go back there," Trump said. "Why should we go to some country that has nothing to do with it?"
The initial Islamabad talks collapsed over Trump's insistence that Iran pledge it will "never have a nuclear weapon" and give up the capabilities that could someday enable one, including enrichment and advanced centrifuges, the Washington Post reports. Iran, which says it does not seek a bomb and cites a religious edict against nuclear weapons, has countered with a shorter pause of three to five years and argues that its membership in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty allows it to enrich uranium for civilian use. Both sides rejected the other's moratorium offer, leaving Trump's red line—no enrichment ever—directly at odds with Iran's.
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