The American Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, stated this Tuesday (26) that negotiations for an agreement with Iran are being paralyzed due to differences over the wording of the document.
“It’s going to take a few days for things to calm down… even the disagreements over a word, a phrase,” Rubio told reporters on his plane during a trip to India, echoing previous comments from U.S. officials. “We’re going to have to resolve this.”
Rubio’s comments came hours after the U.S. military carried out what it called “self-defense strikes” against missile launch sites and Iranian vessels around the Strait of Hormuz.
“, they’re going to be open one way or another, so they need to be open,” Rubio said when asked about the strikes.
Although Iranian authorities have not yet commented on the US strikes, Iranian state media outlets have classified them as a violation of the current ceasefire agreement. American and Iranian forces have previously exchanged fire during the ceasefire.
Iran claimed, on Monday (25), to have shot down a “hostile” stealth drone using a new air defense system, Iranian news agencies reported, without specifying the origin of the aircraft.
The recent US strikes came as Iran’s chief negotiator and foreign minister were in Doha for talks with Qatar’s prime minister about working with the US to end the three-month war, an official familiar with the visit said.
Rubio told reporters in New Delhi that the US would give diplomacy every chance of success before considering dealing with Iran in “another way.”
He said there was “something quite concrete on the table”, referring to negotiations on the reopening of the strait and a “significant, time-bound one on the nuclear issue”.
In a post on Truth Social on Monday, US President Donald Trump said negotiations with Iran were going “well” but warned of further attacks if they failed. “There will only be one Big Deal for everyone, or no deal at all,” he wrote.
*with information from Reuters and CNN
