US Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted that Tehran must reopen the shipping channel for any peace agreement to take hold.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies before a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on President Donald Trump's FY2027 budget request for the Department of State, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, on Jun 2, 2026. (File photo: Reuters/Kylie Cooper)
03 Jun 2026 05:53AM
(Updated: 03 Jun 2026 06:29AM)
WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday (Jun 2) expressed hope that a deal to end the war in Iran was in the cards, stressing that Tehran must severely curtail its nuclear programme before any sanctions are lifted."There is the prospect before us, which could happen today, it could happen tomorrow, it could happen next week," Rubio told a Congressional panel.Rubio was testifying in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as the three-month US-Israeli war on Iran appears to have reached an impasse, with the closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz continuing to disrupt global energy markets.Rubio insisted that Tehran must reopen the shipping channel for any peace agreement to take hold, while also agreeing to curb its nuclear activities in order to see sanctions lifted."Iran is being sanctioned because they've highly enriched uranium, Iran is being sanctioned because of their nuclear activities," Rubio said. "If they agree to give up those things, there will be sanctions relief."US President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed confidence that a deal with Iran was near, but talks have stalled. And although a ceasefire has largely held since early April, Iranian and US forces have traded strikes in recent days.
