US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that there might be news “maybe today” in the talks between Iran and the US to end the war.
“Work still in progress. We thought we might have some news last night, maybe today…,” Rubio told reporters on Monday in the Indian capital New Delhi, as he flew to the Indian city of Agra to visit the landmark Taj Mahal.
The US diplomat said there is “a pretty solid thing on the table in terms of their ability to open up the straits, get the straits open, enter into a very real, significant, time-limited negotiation on the nuclear matters.”
“Hopefully we can pull it off,” he said.
Rubio, who is on a four-day visit to India, said US President Donald Trump is not “going to make a bad deal,” and the US is going to give “diplomacy every chance to succeed.”
“As the President (Trump) said, he’s not in a hurry; he’s not going to make a bad deal. I mean, the President is not going to make a bad agreement. So let’s see what happens. We’re going to give diplomacy every chance to succeed before we explore the alternative,” he said.
The United States will either have a good agreement with Iran or deal with the country “another way,” Rubio said.
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‘Both sides must take their time and get it right’
A day earlier, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the US blockade on Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz would “remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed”.
He added, “Both sides must take their time and get it right.”
There was no immediate response from Iran’s government. But the Tasnim news agency, linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, said the US was still obstructing parts of a potential deal, including Tehran’s demand for the release of frozen funds.
Oil prices fell 6 percent to two-week lows on Monday, as optimism grew that the United States and Iran were moving closer to a peace deal.
