US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that talks with Iran have seen “significant progress,” including the prospect of fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping.
Speaking at a press conference after talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Rubio said there was a chance of “good news” in the next few hours and suggested President Donald Trump might make an announcement. He added that more information could emerge later and left further details to the President.
Without offering specifics, Rubio said negotiators had made headway over the previous 48 hours on an outline that could help resolve the conflict. He identified the main obstacles as Iran’s nuclear programme and control of the Strait of Hormuz, the route that normally carries about one-fifth of the world’s energy supplies.
Rubio noted that shipping through the strait has been heavily disrupted since February 28, when the US and Israel launched joint attacks on Iran that triggered retaliatory strikes, and that disruptions have continued despite a fragile ceasefire in place since April 8. He quoted President Trump’s recent post that “the Strait of Hormuz will be opened,” and stressed that while progress has been made there is no final agreement yet.
He reiterated the long-standing US objective that Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon and described Iran’s threats to commercial vessels in an international waterway as unlawful. Rubio said some progress with Gulf partners could, if successful, result in a fully open strait “without tolls.”
Jaishankar said India and the United States share a strong interest in safe, unimpeded maritime trade and in keeping global energy prices low and supplies widely available. He pointed to a significant rise in India’s energy imports from the US and said New Delhi intends to diversify energy sources to bolster energy security and avoid distortions in the market.
Separately, Islamabad hosted senior figures from both sides last month for the first talks of this kind since 1979, but those meetings did not produce a peace deal. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Sunday that Islamabad hopes to host the next round of talks soon.
The Pakistani leader’s remarks followed a phone call President Trump held with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Türkiye, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain and Pakistan to discuss the regional situation and ongoing peace efforts. Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir was in Tehran until late Saturday for talks with Iranian officials aimed at accelerating efforts to reach what Pakistani authorities described as a “conclusive agreement” between Washington and Tehran.
