US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the Trump administration has not offered Iran sanctions relief in exchange for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, stressing that any future relief would remain tied to Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Speaking during a Senate hearing on Tuesday (2 June), Rubio outlined two stages process for negotiations. He said Iran would first need to announce that it would “no longer fire on commercial ships” or threaten vessels transiting the strategic waterway.
Rubio said discussions would then move to Iran’s nuclear activities, including the future of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and potential long-term limits on uranium enrichment. He stated that Iran would need to commit to negotiations on these issues before technical details could be worked out.
Asked whether sanctions relief or access to frozen funds could be offered simply to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Rubio replied: “No, that’s not been discussed. That’s not been offered.”
He added that “any sanctions relief is condition-based” and linked to the reasons sanctions were imposed, stating: “Iran is being sanctioned because of their nuclear activities.”
The comments come as the Iran conflict enters its fourth month and negotiations continue over maritime security, regional stability and Tehran’s nuclear programme.
ℹ️ AP News
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