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.
‘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.
Trump raised expectations of an imminent deal on Saturday when he said Washington and Tehran had "largely negotiated" a memorandum of understanding on a peace agreement that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Before the conflict, the critical waterway had carried a fifth of global shipments of oil and liquefied natural gas.
The two sides remain at odds on several difficult issues, such as Iran's nuclear ambitions, Israel's war in Lebanon with Hezbollah and Tehran's demands for the lifting of sanctions and the release of tens of billions of dollars of Iranian oil revenues frozen in foreign banks.
Sticking points
A senior Trump administration official outlined what he said were the latest contours of issues being negotiated.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the official said Iran had agreed "in principle" to open the Strait of Hormuz, in exchange for the United States lifting its naval blockade, and to dispose of Tehran's highly enriched uranium.
The US understood Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei had endorsed the broad template of the deal, he added.
There was no immediate confirmation from Iran or elaboration on what an "in principle" agreement meant.
The US official said Washington envisioned first re-opening the strait and lifting the US naval blockade.
Negotiating the details of the nuclear measures would take more time.
The official pushed back on suggestions that Iran had not accepted disposing of its stockpiled enriched uranium. "It's a question about how," the official said.
A second senior administration official said on Sunday the proposed framework would give negotiators 60 days to reach a final deal.
Iranian sources had told Reuters that in future stages, "feasible formulas" could be found to resolve the dispute over its highly enriched uranium stockpile, including diluting the material under the supervision of the UN nuclear watchdog.
