US and Iran zero in on four nuclear issues in talks, via NYT

In the days before the latest flare-ups of violence in the Middle East, President Trump’s aides were negotiating with Tehran on four major elements of a nuclear agreement that U.S. officials contend would grind the program to a halt for 15 years or so. The negotiations, according to U.S. officials and diplomats who have been briefed on the confidential talks, have gone considerably beyond discussion about reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which the Iranians have all but shut down for 101 days. Four Points: The United States has demanded for months that Iran agree to conduct no uranium enrichment for at least 20 years. The Iranians have countered by offering a 10-year halt, but American officials believe they will settle for 15 years. The United States would work with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. inspection body, to dilute, or “downblend,” Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium.. Iranian officials say the United States would serve only as an observer. The United States has demanded that Iran dismantle its three major nuclear sites at Natanz, Fordo and Isfahan The United States wants international inspectors to be able to conduct “snap” inspections, anytime and anyplace inside Iran.