US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that Iran has agreed to negotiate some aspects of its nuclear program, expressing hope that ongoing talks could help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Anadolu reports.

Speaking at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the State Department’s budget request, Rubio said: “We are in talks… There are opportunities before us that could it could happen today, it could happen tomorrow, it could happen next week, for the first time, at least in my memory, they’ve agreed to negotiate some aspects of their nuclear program.”

He said the U.S. hopes these negotiations will lead to a broader understanding that will include the reopening of this strategic sea lane.

“We hope something like that can happen, where the strait reopens, and we enter a period negotiations on very specific issues, with the goal of achieving an acceptable result for both us and them,” he said.

Rubio sharply criticized Iran’s actions in the Strait of Hormuz, calling them “illegal”.

“There is no country in the world, except Iran and maybe Oman that has flirted with this, that is in favor of what Iran is doing in the strait,” he said. “The Chinese are against it, the Russians are against it, everyone is against it, the whole world is against it,” Rubio added.

He said reopening the strait means ships must pass through international waters “without being attacked” and “without paying taxes.” Asked if sanctions relief has been discussed in exchange for reopening the strait, Rubio replied: “No, it hasn’t been discussed.”

it is conditional, which means that it must be in exchange for the reason for which those sanctions were imposed in the first place, which is their nuclear program,” said the top American diplomat.

Source: prizrenpost