Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that negotiations with Iran have not been productive and that Tehran’s demands are “not just unacceptable, but in some cases outrageous and ridiculous.”
Rubio spoke to reporters at Homestead Air Reserve Base in Florida before flying to Paris for a G7 foreign ministers’ meeting. He called the demands unrealistic, said a breakthrough is not imminent, and said Trump prefers diplomacy, though it is not always possible. He said Trump identified a very real threat in Iran and that the United States can defend itself against a clear and present threat to shipping or US forces. He did not say which demands he meant.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X that Tehran’s two-day offer remains open. Under it, Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial ships within two days once Washington meets Tehran’s conditions, among them an end to the war on every front.
Earlier Iranian proposals also sought the release of frozen assets, relief from oil sanctions and an end to the US blockade of its ports. Araghchi pinned the stall on the US election results and said mediators need time before returning to Tehran.
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Qatar is leading the mediation, and its prime minister will meet with Trump at the White House on Monday. Tehran is reviewing Qatari proposals aimed at bridging the gap with Washington. Pakistan and other regional powers have spent months pressing for an end to the war, which US and Israeli strikes began in late February.
Trump told CNN by phone that strikes are unlikely to resume if talks progress and Tehran signs a strong agreement. Asked in an interview with Ross Douthat that aired Sunday whether he will escalate the war now that the midterms are over, Trump said he is not looking to and sees no reason to.
Trump also said he agrees, with one exception, with Vice President JD Vance’s post blaming the war for Republican losses in last week’s midterms. He told reporters Sunday that Vance should also have said he would start the war again, and he predicted history will rank it among “the best things we ever did.”
The fighting has mostly died down, though no formal ceasefire is in place. Tehran still restricts shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, and US warships still blockade Iran’s ports. Iranian media reported a US strike on Qeshm Island overnight. A Revolutionary Guards naval official said it knocked out navigation aids south of the strait, while a provincial official said the targets were away from homes and businesses. None of the reports say Washington has confirmed the strike.
On Saturday, US Central Command announced a 20-member, Florida-based task force to disrupt arms shipments and illicit trade reaching Iran by land and across the Caspian Sea.
