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<\/figure>\nOpening the Strait of Hormuz for a free flow of shipping is a major sticking point in the negotiations for any agreement, one of the people said. Iran\u2019s nuclear capability is another, the second person said.<\/p>\n
The U.S. asked Iran during the marathon talks in Islamabad for a 20-year suspension of uranium enrichment, the second person said. Iran agreed to three to five years, which Trump has said is not acceptable, the second person said.<\/p>\n
The U.S. has also asked Iran to remove highly enriched uranium from the country, but Iran agreed to a \u201cmonitored process of down blending\u00bb \u2014 which is a process by which more dangerous, highly-enriched uranium is mixed with natural or less potent uranium to create a less potent material, according to the second person familiar with the ongoing negotiations.<\/p>\n
Trump said in an interview with the New York Post on Tuesday that there could be an update on U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan within days.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should stay there, really, because something could be happening over the next two days, and we\u2019re more inclined to go there,\u201d Trump said in the interview, according to the Post.<\/p>\n
The White House has a lot riding on the success of the diplomatic talks as polls show American voters souring on the conflict with Iran as inflation grinds on and gas prices rise. The president\u2019s political advisers are looking ahead to the midterm elections in November, when Republicans will be fighting to preserve their razor-thin margin in the House and maintain their advantage in the Senate.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Israel and Lebanon held direct talks in Washington, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio also participating. The high-level talks, which lasted roughly two hours, were the first between Israel and Lebanon since 1993.<\/p>\n
The Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in early March in solidarity with Iran after the U.S. and Israel attacked the Islamic Republic on Feb. 28. And Israel has retaliated with attacks across Lebanon that have killed more than 2,000 people.<\/p>\n
\u00abThis will take time, but we believe it is worth this endeavor,\u00bb Rubio told reporters ahead of the meeting. \u00abIt\u2019s a historic gathering that we hope to build on, and the hope today is that we can outline the framework upon which a permanent and lasting peace can be developed.\u00bb<\/p>\n
The talks between Israel and Lebanon were not connected to the U.S. negotiations with Iran in Islamabad, a State Department official said.<\/p>\n
In an interview with Fox News on Monday, Vance said there had been some \u00abgood conversations\u00bb with Tehran during the talks in the Pakistani capital.<\/p>\n
Asked whether there might be more negotiations on the horizon, he said the question would be \u201cbest put to the Iranians, because the ball really is in their court.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that there was a \u00abgrand deal to be had,\u00bb but it was up to Tehran to \u00abtake the next step.\u00bb<\/p>\n
Trump said that the U.S. had been called \u201cby the right people, the appropriate people, and they want to work a deal.\u201d He said a day earlier that he didn’t \u00abcare\u00bb whether Iran returned to the negotiating table.<\/p>\n
\u00abDespite all of the bluster, both sides would like to go down the escalation ladder,\u201d Ross Harrison, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute and the author of \u201cDecoding Iran\u2019s Foreign Policy,\u201d said in a phone interview Tuesday. \u201c I don\u2019t think anybody relishes escalating further.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a recognition that despite all the posturing, both on the ground with the blockade and also with some of the war of words, there\u2019s a recognition that the only way really to resolve this is through negotiation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Vance said that the key sticking point in the talks centered around Iran’s enrichment of uranium.<\/p>\n
\u00abWe must have the enriched material out of Iran,\u00bb he said, adding: \u00abWe must have their conclusive commitment to not develop a nuclear weapon.\u00bb<\/p>\n
Vance said Tehran had shown some flexibility in talks over the weekend, but \u201cdidn\u2019t move far enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the possibility of fresh talks on the horizon, Vance said, \u201cif the Iranians are willing to meet us there, then this can be a very, very good deal for both countries. If they\u2019re not willing to meet us there, that\u2019s up to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear watchdog, has estimated that Iran has nearly 1,000 pounds of highly enriched uranium, enough for 11 nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n
Tehran has maintained that its highly enriched uranium is still buried underground after U.S. airstrikes targeting enrichment facilities last year. It insists its nuclear program is peaceful and that it has no intention of seeking a nuclear weapon.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s armed forces accused the U.S. of \u201cpiracy\u201d with the blockade and threatened ports across the Gulf if its own were hit.<\/p>\n
But despite the risks of an intensifying standoff over Hormuz, the two-week ceasefire in the conflict seemed to be holding.<\/p>\n
Israel and Lebanon, meanwhile, were holding rare direct talks in Washington on Tuesday in an effort to defuse another flashpoint that threatened the deal.<\/p>\n
Israel has invaded southern Lebanon and attacked its neighbor from the air, including an intense day of deadly strikes on Beirut last week.<\/p>\n
The Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, which launched attacks on Israel last month in solidarity with Tehran, urged the Lebanese government to abandon the talks.<\/p>\n
The U.S. and Israel have insisted Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire, but Iran and mediator Pakistan have said it is. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will join the talks in Washington on Tuesday.<\/p>\n