US Secretary of State Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the
2nd that the US is still negotiating with Iran but he is uncertain when a deal
might be reached. It was his first congressional testimony since the US and
Israel launched a large-scale military operation against Iran in late February.
Rubio said Iran has agreed to negotiate elements of its nuclear program —
something it refused a month or a year ago — and that a deal could be reached
today, tomorrow or next week, though he gave no assurance it would obtain
congressional approval. He added the US has not proposed lifting sanctions or
releasing frozen funds in exchange for reopening the Strait of Hormuz; any
sanction relief would have to be conditional on resolving the nuclear issues
that prompted the sanctions.
