Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday reiterated that the U.S. is dedicated to reopening the Strait of Hormuz and securing necessary concessions from Iran during negotiations.
Speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mr. Rubio outlined America’s main demands surrounding the strait and Iran’s nuclear stockpiles.
“They have to announce, very clearly, that the straits are now open. We’re not charging a toll. We will help remove the mines that they put in there, and they will not fire on ships,” he said.
When pressed on whether the U.S. would offer sanctions relief in exchange for Iran reopening the strait, Mr. Rubio confirmed that such discussions had not taken place during negotiations.
Iran has kept the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed to all Western-linked ships for nearly three months in reaction to U.S. and Israeli strikes. At least 20% of the world’s oil passes through the waterway each year, and its closure has dramatically increased oil and gas prices.
Mr. Rubio added that only after Iran agrees to reopen Hormuz safely will negotiations move to phase two, which will focus on Iran’s highly enriched uranium.
“They have to commit to very specific negotiations on the highly enriched uranium that is still buried deep in a mountain somewhere. They have to agree on negotiating severe and long-term limitations and cancellation of enrichment activity,” he said.
Mr. Rubio admitted that the removal, destruction or dilution of the stockpiles would be complex and take a long time.
Security analysts believe much of the uranium was underground near Iran’s largest enrichment facility, which the U.S. bombed last June.
