The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has stated that there has been “a little progress” regarding the situation involving Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, reports Anadolu.

“There has been some small progress, I don’t want to exaggerate, but there has been some movement and that is a good thing”, Rubio told reporters before the meeting of NATO foreign ministers, along with NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte.

Rubio said “the fundamentals remain the same,” adding: “Iran can never have nuclear weapons, it just cannot produce them.”

He said Washington is awaiting the outcome of ongoing discussions with Iran, stressing that issues related to uranium enrichment and Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium must be addressed.

Rubio also accused Iran of trying to create a “system tariff” in the Strait of Hormuz, stressing that Tehran is trying to convince Oman to join this initiative.

“There is no country in the world that should accept this,” he said, calling the idea “unacceptable.”

“If this happened in the Strait of Hormuz, it will happen in five other countries in the world,” he added.

The top American diplomat said Washington is working through the UN on a Bahrain-sponsored resolution on the issue, claiming it has received broad international support.

“Let’s see if the UN still works,” Rubio said, also criticizing unnamed members of the UN Security Council who he said are considering vetoing the resolution.

Rutte, for his part, said the NATO meeting would focus on defense spending, Ukraine and freedom of navigation amid growing concerns about Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.

“I hear from many colleagues here that it is unacceptable that freedom of navigation is practically being violated as it is currently happening,” Rutte said.

He also thanked the US for continuing military support for Ukraine, particularly the supply of interception systems funded by European allies and Canada.

Rubio also said the upcoming NATO leaders’ summit in Ankara will be “one of the most important leaders’ summits in NATO’s history,” citing defense industrial production, burden sharing and global security challenges as alliance priorities.

Source: prizrenpost