Rubio says progress made on ‘outline’ to open Strait of Hormuz ‘without toll’

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that progress has been made on an “outline” to open the Strait of Hormuz “without toll” but that would need “full Iranian acceptance and then compliance.”

“Some progress has been made, significant progress, although not final progress has been made,” Rubio told reporters in Indian capital New Delhi, referring to ongoing indirect talks between the US and Iran, mediated by Pakistan.

On the Strait of Hormuz, Rubio said: “This is an international waterway. They don’t own it. It’s an international waterway.”

Emphasizing a diplomatic solution, Rubio said the US has “made some progress over the last 48 hours working with our partners in the Gulf region on an outline.”

The outline, he added, “that could ultimately, if it succeeds, leave us not just with a completely open straits — and I mean open straits without tolls — and with addressing some of the key things that underpin what has been Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions in the past.”

“Obviously,” Rubio stressed, “that will require full Iranian acceptance and then compliance, and it will require some future work on negotiating the details.”

US President Donald Trump held a phone call with regional leaders on Saturday night to discuss ongoing indirect talks with Iran. According to him, an agreement was “largely negotiated” and awaited finalization.

“The ultimate goal is that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon,” Rubio said.

He said the Iranian nuclear program was a “highly technical” matter, “one that would probably need to be addressed over some period of time.”

The “preference” of the US “is to address this through diplomatic means, and that’s what we’re endeavoring to do here. I think we’ve made some progress. I’m always cautious when I say that because you can agree to things on paper,” he said.

“But I do think perhaps there is the possibility that over the next few hours the world will get some good news, at least with regards to the straits,” Rubio said. “Significant progress, although not final progress, has been made.”