Helsingborg, Sweden — May 22, 2026: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he has been consulting NATO allies about contingency options to restore navigation through the Strait of Hormuz if Iran refuses to cooperate.
Speaking to reporters at a ministerial summit in Helsingborg, Rubio stressed the need for operational preparedness, saying, ‘We have to have a plan B for if someone is shooting’ in the strategically vital waterway. He added that, while ‘at some point, ideally, they open the strait,’ planners must consider ‘what if Iran says, ‘No, we refuse to open the Strait?”
Rubio warned that international stakeholders, including the United States, would be forced to ‘do something about it’ if Iran blocked passage, but he declined to say whether a direct NATO deployment would be a suitable response.
Alongside military contingency planning, Rubio said diplomatic engagement with difficult partners was ongoing. ‘There’s been some progress — we’re not there yet,’ he said, cautioning that negotiations might or might not yield a resolution.
He also indicated that Washington anticipated Pakistani outreach to Tehran as part of regional diplomacy. At the time he spoke, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi was already in the Iranian capital for talks, and Rubio said he expected further Pakistani travel to Tehran.
Those diplomatic exchanges moved quickly: Pakistan’s Army Chief, Asim Munir, visited Tehran the following day amid rising hope for diplomatic momentum between Washington and Tehran, Iranian state media reported.
Naqvi’s visit to Tehran had been an intensive, unannounced three-day trip. He met Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior officials as part of efforts to bridge gaps between Tehran and Washington and to seek paths toward long-term peace and regional stability.
Iranian and Pakistani outlets said Naqvi and Iranian Foreign Ministry officials, including Abbas Araghchi, held two rounds of talks focused on proposals to reduce tensions and resolve the impasse with the United States. State-affiliated Tasnim News and Geo News reported that the discussions examined detailed frameworks aimed at ending the US-Iran conflict and supporting lasting stability in the region.
Rubio described the diplomacy as showing some encouraging movement but said alternative measures remained under consideration. ‘I don’t want to get ahead of it … I think we’ve made some progress,’ he said.
The account of these developments is drawn from a syndicated feed and reports from Iranian and Pakistani media. The Tribune has published the material as received and assumes no responsibility for its accuracy or completeness.
