U.S. State Secretary Says U.S. Will Find 'Another Way' if Iran Talks Fail

Reuters

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The United States will either have a good agreement with Iran or deal with the country "another way," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday.

Rubio told reporters in New Delhi that the U.S. would give diplomacy every chance to ‌succeed before exploring "alternatives", after President Donald Trump said on Sunday he had told his representatives not to rush into any Iran deal.

There was a "pretty solid thing on the table in terms of their ability to open up the strait, get the strait open, enter into a very real, significant, time-limited negotiation on the nuclear matter, and hopefully we can pull it off," Rubio said.

A day earlier, President Trump wrote on Truth Social that the U.S. 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 U.S. was still obstructing parts ⁠of a potential deal, including Tehran's demand for the release of frozen funds.

Oil prices fell 6% to two-week lows on Monday, as optimism grew that the United States and Iran were moving closer to a peace deal.

President 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.

The two sides remain at odds on several difficult issues, such as Iran's nuclear ambitions, Israel's war in Lebanon with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia 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.

Source: Reuters



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