US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that “slight progress” was made during talks with Iran as Pakistan's army chief traveled to Tehran in a renewed effort to mediate a peace deal and uncertainty loomed over whether war will resume.
Rubio spoke days after US President Donald Trump said he was holding off on a military strike against the country because “serious negotiations” were underway. Trump has been threatening for weeks that the ceasefire reached in mid-April could end if Iran does not make a deal, with shifting parameters for striking such an agreement.
The secretary of state made the comment ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, where the military alliance discussed what role it could play in helping police the Strait of Hormuz once the war is over.
Rubio said he did not want to exaggerate the progress, saying there had been “a little bit of movement and that's good.” He said the conversations were ongoing. In recent weeks there have been repeated claims of progress, but a deal has stayed out of reach.
Trump has repeatedly set deadlines for Tehran and then backed off. But he’s also previously indicated he would hold off on military action to allow talks to continue, only to turn around and launch strikes. That happened at the war’s outset, when he ordered strikes in late February shortly after indicating he would let talks play out.
The president said he called off attacks on Iran this week at the request of Gulf countries, including the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Pakistan's army chief in Iran
In a renewed push for a peace agreement, Pakistan's top army officer arrived Friday in Tehran for talks with Iranian leaders, Pakistani officials and the military confirmed. It's the third round of meetings between Pakistani and Iranian officials in recent days.
Field Marshal Asim Munir will be joined by Pakistan’s interior minister, who has already met with Iranian leaders in Tehran twice this week. Pakistan has sought a deal between Iran and the US since Munir facilitated face-to-face talks between the two countries in Islamabad last month.
Still, major sticking points remain.
Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for the shipment of oil, gas, fertilizer and other petroleum products. The US is blockading Iranian ports and has redirected 94 commercial vessels and disabled four others from mid-April through Thursday, US Central Command said in a social media post.
At the NATO meeting in Sweden, Rubio said he discussed reopening the strait with other foreign ministers. He said there needs to be a “plan B” if Washington and Tehran fail to reach a deal.
“Someone’s going to have to do something about it, OK?” Rubio said, insisting that Iran was not going to “voluntarily reopen” the strait.
The US and Israel have said Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. While regional officials have said Iran offered some nuclear concessions, Trump has said he wants to remove highly enriched uranium from the country and prevent it from developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Tension with Netanyahu
Trump's decision to give more peace talks a chance sparked tension with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
An official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media said Thursday that Trump and Netanyahu had a “dramatic” phone conversation Tuesday about the status of the Iranian negotiations and that Israel is angry with Trump’s efforts to strike a deal with Iran.
The White House declined to comment on the substance or tenor of the call. Trump told reporters after the conversation that Netanyahu “will do whatever I want him to do.”
The comments are some of the first public signs of daylight between the leaders since they launched the war.
