US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that “some progress” had been made in peace talks with Iran, telling reporters in New Delhi after his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that an announcement could come within days, Ada Derana reported citing AA.
“There might be some news (on Iran) later today. There may not be. I hope there will be. I am not sure yet. There has been some progress done,” Rubio said. “There is a chance that maybe later today, tomorrow, maybe couple of days, we may have something to say, but this issue needs to be solved one way or another.”
He restated Washington’s core demands: “Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. The strait needs to be open without tolls. They need to turn over their highly enriched uranium. We need to address that issue. We need to address the issue of enrichment.” Rubio said the United States preferred a diplomatic path but the problem “will be solved one way or the other.”
The remarks build on Rubio’s comments at a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Sweden a day earlier, where he said talks had progressed but Washington was “not there yet” and called Iran’s proposal for Strait of Hormuz tolling “unacceptable.”
The Saturday statement was issued on the second leg of Rubio’s four-day India visit ahead of a Quad foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi on Monday. The US and Iran have been exchanging proposals through Islamabad on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, addressing Iran’s nuclear programme and Iran’s demands for sanctions relief.
Traffic through the strait has fallen to a fraction of pre-war volumes, with broad consequences for Sri Lanka including a CPC oil import bill that has climbed from USD 152 million in December to USD 521 million in May and pressure on the rupee.
