U.S. and Iranian negotiators continued to press for a breakthrough on the final wording of a possible agreement to end the war, even as American forces conducted self-defense strikes against targets in southern Iran and Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened “one way or the other.”
Speaking in India, Rubio described the Iranian closure of the strait as unlawful, illegal, and unsustainable for the global economy. “The straits have to be open, they’re going to be open,” he said. “What’s happening there is unlawful, it’s illegal, it’s unsustainable for the world, it’s unacceptable.” He noted that talks were under way in Qatar and that further progress hinged on whether the two sides could resolve remaining disputes over the precise language of an initial document. “It’ll take a few days,” he said. “The president expressed his desire to make it. He’s either going to make a good deal or no deal.”
President Donald Trump has repeatedly framed the negotiations in similar terms, insisting that any agreement he signs must be “a good and proper one.” He has drawn a sharp contrast with the 2015 nuclear deal reached under President Barack Obama, which he has long argued provided Iran with substantial financial relief while leaving open a pathway to a nuclear weapon. Vice President JD Vance and other senior administration officials have taken part in the late-stage discussions, according to the administration.
The diplomatic effort is unfolding against a backdrop of ongoing military friction. U.S. Central Command said American forces carried out “self-defense strikes” in southern Iran on Monday “to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces.” Capt. Tim Hawkins, a Central Command spokesperson, said the targets included missile launch sites and Iranian boats that were attempting to place mines. He emphasized that the command is defending U.S. forces while exercising restraint under a cease-fire that has been in place for roughly six weeks. Hawkins declined to specify which ships had come under fire, their locations, or the precise sites of the other strikes.
A senior U.S. military official said some of the dozens of American warplanes and nearly two dozen Navy warships enforcing a blockade had been threatened by Iranian surface-to-air missiles. The naval force includes two aircraft carriers and their escorts, positioned to prevent vessels from entering or leaving Iranian ports in or around the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. The official said the U.S. strikes occurred near the Iranian port and navy base at Bandar Abbas. American and Iranian forces have clashed in other ways since the cease-fire began, but Monday’s strikes took place while Iranian officials were assembled in Qatar for the negotiations.
Tehran acknowledged forward movement in the talks while cautioning that a signed agreement was not yet at hand. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran and the United States had reached understandings on a large share of the issues under discussion. “It is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion,” he told a weekly briefing. At the same time, he rejected the notion that an agreement was imminent and accused Washington of shifting its positions during the negotiations.
A top administration official said Sunday that Iran had agreed to a framework that would include surrendering its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, though substantial work remains to finalize the details. Under the emerging outline, Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the United States lifting its blockade of the waterway. If Tehran agrees to reduce its nuclear enrichment activities, Washington would also be prepared to ease sanctions. The official said the two sides largely agree on the basic ideas and that the administration is satisfied with the direction of the talks, even as negotiators continue to refine the text. Iran, the official added, appears more willing to reach an accommodation than it did before the U.S. military operation.
What Washington wants most is a firm commitment that Iran will not enrich uranium. The duration of that pledge—whether twenty years or thirty—matters less to the administration, the official said, than the strength of the mechanisms that would enforce it. Officials believe a finished agreement would go further than the 2015 deal, which had permitted enrichment up to a defined level.
For now, the outcome still turns on language. Rubio’s public statements leave little ambiguity on the strait: Washington treats its reopening as nonnegotiable. Iran’s public line is equally clear on timing: understandings are not the same as a signed agreement. Between those positions, officials on both sides say the remaining work is specific, technical, and likely to take several more days.
