Negotiations between the United States and Iran broke down over the weekend in Islamabad after Washington insisted that Tehran suspend its uranium enrichment programme for 20 years as part of any deal, while Iran refused to commit to more than five years. The talks, hosted by Pakistan and representing the highest-level direct engagement between the two countries since 1979, ended without agreement, though both delegations left the door open for further dialogue. US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that a second round of talks could take place within days and that Washington was inclined to return to Pakistan, where Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government has been working alongside Turkish and Egyptian intermediaries to keep the process alive. The disagreement over duration echoes longstanding tensions over the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the landmark nuclear accord that capped Iranian enrichment for 15 years before Trump withdrew from it in 2018; critics at the time argued the timeline was too short, and analysts say both sides are now positioning for what each can present as an improvement on that deal. The stakes are significant: Iran currently holds an estimated 440 kg of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity — enough, in theory, to produce more than ten nuclear warheads — while a ceasefire between the two countries, brokered on 8 April after weeks of conflict, is set to expire on 22 April.