Ahead of the third high-level talks between the US and Iran in Geneva, reports indicate that the US is demanding the removal of sunset clauses in a future nuclear agreement. This demand is more stringent than those made during the Obama administration, raising questions about whether Iran will accept these conditions. On the 25th, Axios reported that US Special Envoy Steve Whitcoff stated in a private meeting with the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC that negotiations will start on the premise of 'no sunset clauses,' emphasizing that regardless of whether a deal is reached, Iran must behave correctly for the remainder of its existence.

The original 2015 nuclear agreement (JCPOA) established time-limited restrictions on Iran's uranium enrichment and storage of enriched uranium. The sunset clauses, which were part of the agreement, indicated that most restrictions would expire within approximately 8 to 25 years, eventually allowing Iran the potential to become a normalized state with the lifting of sanctions and investment from the West. However, the Republican Party has consistently criticized these clauses, and former President Trump unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in 2018. If an agreement is reached without sunset clauses, it would allow Trump to tout it as the 'permanent removal of Iran's nuclear weapons threat' while claiming a more stringent deal than that of Obama.

Whitcoff identified the key issues for this negotiation as Iran's uranium enrichment capability and how to handle enriched uranium stockpiles. He also indicated that core US and Israeli demands, such as restrictions on ballistic missiles and the cessation of support for regional proxies, should be discussed in subsequent talks that involve other Middle Eastern countries. The Iranian side has also indicated their willingness to allow symbolic uranium enrichment rights among three major conditions.