US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that Iran has agreed to negotiate aspects of its nuclear programme, expressing hope that ongoing talks could help secure the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the State Department’s budget request on Tuesday, Rubio said: “We are in talks… There is the prospect before us, which could happen today, it could happen tomorrow, it could happen next week, that for the first time, certainly in my memory, they have agreed to negotiate aspects of their nuclear programme.”
He said the US hopes such negotiations could lead to a broader understanding that would include the reopening of the strategic waterway.
“We’re hopeful that something like that could happen, in which the straits would reopen, we would enter into a period of negotiations on very specific topics, delineated negotiations, in the hope of reaching an outcome that’s acceptable to us and something they would be able to do as well,” he said.
Rubio strongly criticised Iran’s actions in the Strait of Hormuz, calling them “unlawful and illegal.”
“There isn’t a country on earth, other than Iran, and maybe Oman that flirted with it, that’s in favour of what Iran is doing in the straits,” he said. “The Chinese are against it, the Russians are against it, everyone is against it, the whole world is against it.”
Nuclear terms first
Rubio said reopening the strait means that ships should be able to transit through international waters “without being fired upon” and “without paying a toll.”
Asked whether sanctions relief had been discussed in exchange for reopening the strait, Rubio replied: “No, that hasn’t been discussed.”
