Trump says he’s OK with Iran suspending nuke program for 20 years if there’s a ‘real’ commitment |
US President Donald Trump said Friday that he would accept a 20-year suspension of Iran’s nuclear program if Tehran gave a “real” commitment, apparently walking back his previous demands that Iran permanently halt its program and his pledge to ensure Iran can never attain nuclear weapons.
Asked by a reporter on Air Force One as he departed China following his two-day summit with President Xi Jinping whether a 20-year suspension would be sufficient, Trump responded, “Twenty years is enough, but the level of guarantee from them, it’s got to be a real 20 years.”
In the past, Trump has demanded that Iran agree to forever cease enrichment, and commit to never seeking nuclear weapons, claiming that he didn’t want to pass the problem off to a future president.
While Trump gave no further details on what the suspension would entail, the 20-year commitment appears to mirror the much-maligned “sunset clause” in the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran that would have allowed Tehran to enrich unlimited amounts of uranium once the deal elapsed.
Trump had pulled the US out of that agreement, calling the sunset clause “totally unacceptable” and saying that it would spark a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.
However, Trump on Friday also said his patience with Iran was running out and that he had agreed in talks with Xi that Tehran could not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon and must reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
BREAKING: Trump indicated he could accept a 20-year halt to Iran’s nuclear activity: 20 years is enough. But the level of guarantee from them… it's got to be a real 20 years. pic.twitter.com/cic86rTAuC Advertisement if(typeof rgb_remove_toi_dfp_banner != "function" || !rgb_remove_toi_dfp_banner("#Article_Incontent1")){ window.tude = window.tude || { cmd: [] }; tude.cmd.push(function() { if(navigator.userAgent.indexOf("rgbmedia-app") > -1){ tude.setDeviceType("mobile"); } tude.refreshAdsViaDivMappings([ { divId: 'Article_Incontent1', baseDivId: 'Article_Incontent1', } ]); }); } — Clash Report (@clashreport) May 15, 2026
BREAKING: Trump indicated he could accept a 20-year halt to Iran’s nuclear activity:
20 years is enough. But the level of guarantee from them… it's got to be a real 20 years. pic.twitter.com/cic86rTAuC
— Clash Report (@clashreport) May 15, 2026
Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons, but it has enriched uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, obstructed international inspectors from checking........