‘Some progress made,’ says top US diplomat on Iran talks

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that “some progress (was) made” in peace talks with Iran.

“There might be some news (on Iran) later today. There may not be. I hope there will be. I am not sure yet. There has been some progress done,” Rubio told reporters in New Delhi following his talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“There is a chance that maybe later today, tomorrow, maybe couple of days, we may have something to say, but this issue needs to be solved one way or another,” he added.

“Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. The strait needs to be open without tolls. They need to turn over their highly enriched uranium. We need to address that issue. We need to address the issue of enrichment.”

“That’s what we’re working on right now, but this problem will be solved one way or the other. We hope it’s done through the diplomatic route. That’s what we’re working on.”

The US and Iran have been negotiating through Islamabad proposals and counterproposals to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, as well as tackle concerns over Tehran’s nuclear program and its demand for sanctions relief.

In a separate interview with the Indian broadcaster NDTV, Rubio stressed once again: “Iran can never have a nuclear weapon and so the issues of enrichment and the highly enriched uranium have to be confirmed.”

The Strait of Hormuz cannot be closed, he added. “It is illegal. What they are doing, they are basically threatening and are threatened. Have fired upon commercial vessels.”

“It is illegal. It is unlawful under any mechanism for a country to take international waterways and turn it into theirs and charge a toll for it, which is what Iran is trying to do,” he said.

Asked whether the US would conduct fresh strikes on Iran, Rubio said the conflict cannot be a “status quo.” He said the US “prefers” to solve the Iran war with diplomacy, but that it will be solved “one way or the other.”

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