US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said progress has been made on an “outline” to allow toll-free passage through the Strait of Hormuz, but stressed it would require “full Iranian” acceptance and compliance.
“Some progress has been made, significant progress, although not final progress has been made,” Rubio told reporters in Indian capital New Delhi, referring to ongoing indirect talks between the US and Iran, mediated by Pakistan.
On the Strait of Hormuz, Rubio said: “This is an international waterway. They don’t own it. It’s an international waterway.”
Emphasising a diplomatic solution, Rubio said the US has “made some progress over the last 48 hours working with our partners in the Gulf region on an outline.”
The outline, he added, “that could ultimately, if it succeeds, leave us not just with a completely open straits — and I mean open straits without tolls — and with addressing some of the key things that underpin what has been Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions in the past.”
“Obviously,” Rubio stressed, “that will require full Iranian acceptance and then compliance, and it will require some future work on negotiating the details.”
US President Donald Trump held a phone call with regional leaders on Saturday night to discuss ongoing indirect talks with Iran. According to him, an agreement was “largely negotiated” and awaited finalisation.
