Rubio says opening the strait of Hormuz is first condition in talks with Iran
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Rubio says opening the strait of Hormuz is first condition in talks with Iran
The Guardian-June2nd2026
ByTom Ambrose (now) and Taz Ali (earlier)
Rubio says opening the strait of Hormuz is a key point for talks with Iran
Rubio has said Iran will not get sanctions relief for reopening the straight of Hormuz and that any relief ought to be “conditions-based”.
The US secretary of state said Iran “has to announce very clearly that Hormuz strait is open now”, which he said is the first condition in any talks with the country.
He added that Iran must also commit to specific negotiations on the disposition of highly-engaged uranium.
Hezbollah will not accept a “partial ceasefire” with Israel, a senior official from the Iran-backed group said Tuesday, refusing to halt attacks against northern Israel in exchange for Israel sparing Beirut’s southern suburbs.
“We will not accept a partial ceasefire,” Mahmud Qomati told AFP in a written statement, adding that “the Zionist enemy should know that any aggression against the suburbs could lead to a deeper and stronger response” from the group.
On Monday, US president Donald Trump announced a deal which Lebanese officials later said involved Israel refraining from attacking Beirut’s southern suburbs in return for Hezbollah not attacking Israeli territory.
Rubio said he is optimistic about the potential for a resumption in nuclear talks with Iran despite a shaky ceasefire in the war looking increasingly in doubt.
“They have agreed to negotiate aspects of their nuclear program that just a month ago, just a year ago, they were refusing to even mention,” Rubio told the US Senate foreign relations committee. He did not elaborate.
He added, however, that it’s “not a guarantee that ultimately it will lead to a deal that’s acceptable” and that these negotiations have been made difficult by the instability of Iran’s leadership.
Rubio says Khamenei is alive and ‘increasingly engaging’
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has told the committee that Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is alive and “increasingly engaging”.
“I would imagine, given what’s happened to multiple leaders in that system, being very public is probably not something that’s recommended for them internally,” he said.
“But that said, I think there are indications out there that he is increasingly engaging at some level, although all of his communications have been in writing and through intermediaries.”
Rubio says opening the strait of Hormuz is a key point for talks with Iran
Rubio has said Iran will not get sanctions relief for reopening the straight of Hormuz and that any relief ought to be “conditions-based”.
The US secretary of state said Iran “has to announce very clearly that Hormuz strait is open now”, which he said is the first condition in any talks with the country.
He added that Iran must also commit to specific negotiations on the disposition of highly-engaged uranium.
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