New Delhi, India. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that the United States will either reach a good agreement with Iran or deal with the country “another way,” as Washington downplayed expectations of an imminent breakthrough in the three-month-old war.
Diplomatic efforts
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 that he had told his representatives not to rush into any Iran deal.
Rubio said there was a “pretty solid thing on the table” involving Iran’s ability to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and enter into a “very real, significant, time-limited negotiation” on the nuclear issue.
Trump’s remarks
A day earlier, 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 that “both sides must take their time and get it right.”
Reaction from Iran
There was no immediate response from Iran’s government. The Tasnim news agency, which is linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, said the U.S. was still obstructing parts of a possible deal, including Tehran’s demand for the release of frozen funds.
Market reaction
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.
Trump raised expectations of an imminent agreement 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.
Before the conflict, the waterway carried a fifth of global shipments of oil and liquefied natural gas.
Outstanding disputes
The two sides remain divided on several issues, including Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Israel’s war in Lebanon with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia, and Tehran’s demands for sanctions relief and the release of tens of billions of dollars of Iranian oil revenues frozen in foreign banks.