Manila, Philippines. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States remains willing to negotiate an end to the Iran crisis, but Tehran is not serious about talks as the conflict disrupts major energy shipping routes.
Rubio spoke at a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers, as Iran threatened shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis announced a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia.
Red Sea oil shipments
Three oil tankers carrying Saudi crude to Asia reversed course in the Red Sea on Tuesday, apparently in response to Houthi threats.
The Houthis, who control the coast at the mouth of the Red Sea, announced the blockade on Monday, opening a potential new front in the war that has killed thousands of people across the Gulf since US and Israeli attacks on Iran began on February 28.
With Iran threatening shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea has served as the main alternative route for millions of barrels of Saudi oil per day.
Diplomatic efforts
A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday that Tehran had received a proposal from mediators for a 10-day ceasefire, aimed at salvaging the interim ceasefire agreement signed by the United States and Iran in June. That agreement replaced an earlier ceasefire reached in April.
Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni has also visited mediator Pakistan and asked Islamabad to continue its efforts.
Rubio’s warning
Rubio said Washington was “always committed to diplomacy” but questioned whether Iran was equally committed to negotiations.
“The problem we’re having right now is that they’re not serious about talks. If they’re serious, we’re serious. If they’re not, then we will do what’s necessary to protect our interests, and also the interests of our allies,” Rubio said.
He said Iran could not be allowed to control the Strait of Hormuz, arguing that such a move would create a dangerous global precedent, including for Southeast Asian countries that have territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.
“If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll, and if you don’t pay them blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent, which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region,” Rubio said.
