The US Secretary of State said Tuesday that progress has been made in negotiations on the Strait of Hormuz and expressed hope that an agreement will be reached 'very soon.' The statement adds to recent momentum in US-Iran talks.
The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday afternoon that progress has been made in negotiations on the Strait of Hormuz, though nothing is final, and expressed hope that an agreement would be reached 'very soon.' The statement, issued at 16:54 Jerusalem time, marked the latest in a series of upbeat assessments from US officials on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, the US Treasury Secretary told CNBC that a deal with Iran to reopen the strategic waterway could be signed as early as Wednesday. Subsequently, the US confirmed significant progress toward reopening, and Arab media reported that an Iranian statement was expected within hours. Rubio's initial statement at the same time echoed the Treasury Secretary's optimism, while a subsequent version added the caveat that nothing is final.
The diplomatic flurry follows months of tension over the Strait of Hormuz. As The Zioneer reported, the US and Iran reached a preliminary 60-day ceasefire and reopening of the strait in June. That arrangement followed a period of active US strikes on Iranian targets near the waterway, as reported by The Zioneer in late June. Earlier this week, Arabic sources reported that the US had issued a military ultimatum to Iran, and President Trump claimed a foundational agreement on the strait was already in place.
While the US expresses hope for a swift agreement, Rubio's caution that nothing is final underscores that the talks remain fluid. No formal statement from Iran has been issued in response to the latest US comments, and the timeline for a final deal remains uncertain.
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