President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and senior administration officials are refining the final details of a potential agreement to end the war with Iran, even as American forces conducted limited strikes in southern Iran and negotiators continued discussions in Qatar.
Rubio, speaking to reporters during a trip to India, reiterated U.S. insistence that the Strait of Hormuz must reopen. “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 underway in Qatar and that negotiators were still working through specific language in an initial document. “There were some talks going on in Qatar today, so we’ll see if we can make progress,” Rubio said. “I think it’s a lot of talking back and forth going on about specific language in the initial document, so it’ll take a few days. The president expressed his desire to make it. He’s either going to make a good deal or no deal.”
U.S. Central Command said American forces carried out “self-defense strikes” in southern Iran on Monday to protect U.S. troops from threats posed by Iranian forces. Capt. Tim Hawkins, a Central Command spokesperson, said the targets included missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to place mines. He declined to identify which ships had come under fire or provide precise locations of the strikes, adding that Central Command “continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing cease-fire.”
A senior U.S. military official said some of the dozens of American warplanes and nearly two dozen Navy warships — including two aircraft carriers and their escorts enforcing a blockade against vessels seeking to enter or leave Iranian ports in the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea — had faced threats from Iranian surface-to-air missiles. 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 limited ways since a cease-fire took effect roughly six weeks earlier. The latest strikes coincided with Iranian officials gathering in Qatar for negotiations aimed at ending the war.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baqaei, said Tehran and Washington had reached understandings on many issues under discussion but cautioned that a final agreement was not imminent. “It is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion,” Baqaei said at a weekly news briefing. “But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent — no one can make such a claim.” He accused Washington of shifting its positions.
Trump has said that any deal with Iran would be “a good and proper one,” contrasting it with the Obama administration’s 2015 nuclear agreement, which he criticized for providing Iran with significant funds and what he described as a path to a nuclear weapon.
A senior administration official said Sunday that Iran had agreed in principle to a framework that would include the elimination of highly enriched uranium. Work continues on finalizing the terms. Under a prospective final deal, Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the United States lifting its blockade of the waterway. Reduced nuclear enrichment could also lead to eased sanctions.
The official said most parties agree on the basic concepts and that the Trump administration is satisfied with the overall direction, even as specific language remains under negotiation. Iran appears more open to compromise than it was before the military campaign, the official added. Washington is seeking a firm commitment against enrichment, with the duration of any restriction — whether 20 or 30 years — considered less important than the strength of enforcement mechanisms.
Officials have indicated that any resulting agreement is expected to go further than the 2015 deal, which permitted limited enrichment under certain conditions. The administration continues to emphasize that enforcement and verification will be central to any lasting arrangement.
As negotiators work through remaining differences, both sides face pressure from ongoing military activity and the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz to global energy markets. Progress remains incremental, with officials on both sides signaling that a comprehensive resolution will require additional time and mutual concessions.
