U.S. and Iranian negotiators are still haggling over the final language of a possible deal to end the war, even as American forces struck targets in southern Iran and Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened “one way or the other.”
Rubio, speaking during a trip to India, said the closure of the strait is unlawful, illegal, and unsustainable for the world 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 added that talks were underway in Qatar and that progress would depend on whether the two sides can settle disputed wording in 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 framed the choice in similar terms, saying any agreement he signs will be “a good and proper one.” He contrasted that standard with the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated under President Barack Obama, which he has long accused of handing Iran large sums of money and a path to a nuclear weapon. Vice President JD Vance and other senior officials have been involved in the late-stage discussions, according to the administration.
The diplomacy is unfolding against continued 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 trying to place mines. He said the command is defending U.S. forces while using restraint during a cease-fire that has been in effect for about six weeks, but he declined to identify which ships came under fire, where they were, or the precise locations 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 were threatened by Iranian surface-to-air missiles. The naval force includes two aircraft carriers and their escorts, positioned to stop 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 were 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 came as Iranian officials were gathered in Qatar for the negotiations.
Tehran acknowledged movement in the talks while cautioning against expectations of a quick signing. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran and the United States have 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. He rejected the idea that an agreement is imminent and accused Washington of shifting its positions.
A top administration official said Sunday that Iran has agreed to a framework that would include giving up highly enriched uranium, though work remains to lock down the details. In a final deal, 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, 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 said, appears more willing to deal than it was before the U.S. military operation. What Washington wants most is a firm commitment not to enrich. The duration of that pledge—whether 20 years or 30—matters less, the official said, than how it would be enforced. The administration believes a finished agreement would go further than the 2015 deal, which permitted enrichment up to a defined level.
For now, the outcome still turns on language. Rubio’s public line leaves little ambiguity on the strait: Washington treats its reopening as nonnegotiable. Iran’s public line leaves little ambiguity 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.
