NEW DELHI — Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking from India on a high-stakes diplomatic trip, said the United States will not accept anything less than an immediate and lasting reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. He described Iran’s interference with the vital energy corridor as “unlawful, illegal, unsustainable for the world, and unacceptable.”
Those comments came as Rubio confirmed that American and Iranian officials are already in substantive, in-person talks in Qatar. Teams are “working through the language” of a preliminary framework, he said, though a finished text could still take time. Restating a core theme of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, Rubio said Washington’s position is unchanged: “a good deal or no deal.”
The talks in Doha have not paused kinetic activity in the Persian Gulf. As negotiators stepped away for consultations, U.S. Central Command announced what it called “precision self-defense strikes” inside southern Iran.
Military action in the Gulf
Capt. Tim Hawkins, a CENTCOM spokesman, said the operation hit advanced missile sites and Iranian assets that U.S. forces had identified as preparing naval mining near key shipping lanes. The Pentagon framed the strikes as defensive steps meant to protect American personnel and assets in the region while still operating inside a fragile cease-fire.
A senior defense official said U.S. aircraft and ships watching the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea had come under “hostile tracking” from Iranian surface-to-air missile systems. The U.S. response was concentrated near Bandar Abbas, a major Iranian naval hub, and was presented as part of a more forceful application of the administration’s “maximum pressure” approach.
Diplomacy kept open
Even after the strikes, both sides have tried to keep the Qatar channel alive. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said “areas of understanding” exist on several difficult points, but he warned that a final deal is still out of reach. He also accused Washington of adding new conditions and changing positions as a deadline for a draft document drew closer.
In Washington, President Trump said any future agreement with Iran would be “good and proper,” and he again contrasted his terms with the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action negotiated under President Barack Obama. Trump has long argued that the earlier deal gave Tehran economic relief without locking in lasting, verifiable limits that would keep Iran from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon.
A tighter proposed bargain
A senior U.S. official sketched the main pieces of the framework now under discussion. Iran would have to “zero out” its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, guarantee that the Strait of Hormuz stays open without restriction, and accept strict, multi-decade limits on future enrichment. In return, the United States would end its current naval blockade of Iranian ports and begin a phased rollback of selected economic sanctions.
Officials said the large political questions have been settled “in principle.” What remains are technical definitions, verification rules, and, above all, enforcement. Washington calls robust enforcement non-negotiable and treats it as the safeguard missing from earlier accords.
The administration argues that recent military pressure, including the Bandar Abbas strikes, has made Tehran more willing to negotiate. If completed, officials say, the package would impose tighter nuclear limits than the 2015 deal and would form part of a broader, longer-lasting regional settlement.
The dual track — talks in Qatar and force in the Gulf — leaves little room for delay. Rubio’s message from India was that the strait must reopen and stay open, that any nuclear bargain must be enforceable, and that the United States will accept a strong agreement or none at all. Whether the language now being drafted in Doha can close that gap, while ships and aircraft remain on edge near Hormuz, is the test still ahead.
0 commentaires:
Enregistrer un commentaire