Rubio Says Iran Open to Deal, Nuclear Restrictions Remain Key Condition
“I think they're are serious about getting themselves out of the mess that they’re in,” Marco Rubio said in an interview.
According to reports, Rubio pointed to Iran’s deteriorating domestic situation, highlighting rising inflation, difficulties in meeting wage payments, and the continued impact of international sanctions. He argued that the country’s challenges have only deepened since the outbreak of recent hostilities.
“All the problems that Iran had before the start of this conflict are still in place, and most of them are worse,” he said.
He further insisted that any deal must include strict safeguards to ensure Iran cannot move toward acquiring nuclear weapons in the future.
“We have to ensure that any deal that is made … definitively prevents them from sprinting towards a nuclear weapon at any point,” he added.
His comments come amid media reports suggesting that Iran has proposed linking the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to the lifting of US restrictions and the end of ongoing conflict, while postponing broader nuclear negotiations to a later stage.
Addressing Tehran’s position on the waterway, Rubio rejected the idea that it is freely open, arguing that access under Iranian influence would not constitute genuine freedom of navigation.
“The straits are opened, as long as you coordinate with Iran, get our permission, or we'll blow you up and you pay us. That's not opening the straits,” he said.
He added that international waterways must not be subject to unilateral control or financial demands by any single state.
“Those are international waterways. They cannot normalize, nor can we tolerate them trying to normalize, a system in which the Iranians decide who gets to use an international waterway, and how much you have to pay them to use it,” he added.
According to reports, Iran and the US previously held discussions in Islamabad on April 11, but those talks did not result in an agreement to end the conflict that began on February 28.
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