Summary
- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran's efforts to maintain control of the Strait of Hormuz and possess nuclear weapons are unacceptable.
- Rubio said talks on ending the conflict and nuclear negotiations are struggling amid Iran's divided leadership and severe economic distress.
- Rubio said the current level of sanctions on Iran is already very strong and that there is room to increase pressure further if no agreement is reached.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
Rubio says divided leadership in Tehran is hampering talks
Signals pressure could be increased if no deal is reached
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran's efforts to control traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and retain nuclear weapons capability are unacceptable.
In a Fox News interview on April 27, Rubio spelled out what he described as U.S. red lines as negotiations with Iran over ending hostilities remain stalled.
"If what Iran means by an 'open strait' is one where passage requires permission and fees, then it is not open," Rubio said.
He described the Strait of Hormuz as an international waterway and said the U.S. cannot accept any effort to normalize a system in which Iran decides who can use it and how much they must pay.
Axios previously reported that Iran had sent the U.S. a proposal to reopen the strait first, declare an end to the conflict and then continue nuclear talks later.
Rubio's comments suggested that proposal would amount not to freedom of navigation, but to controlled passage.
With a second round of U.S.-Iran talks on ending the conflict, scheduled for April 25, having failed to take place, Rubio cited Iran's divided leadership as one obstacle to an agreement.
He said Iran's negotiating team is heavily constrained by differences with other factions within the government over the scope of any deal.
The Iranian negotiators must first decide internally what they are authorized to agree to, he said. Even so, Iran is taking the talks seriously because of severe economic distress and damage to its military facilities.
On what would happen if no agreement is reached, Rubio said that would be up to the president. Current sanctions on Iran are already very strong, he added, and there is room to increase pressure further.
Rubio also said Iran is trying to hold the world hostage through oil and nuclear weapons. "That is absolutely unacceptable," he said.
Park Sang-kyung, Hankyung.com reporter highseoul@hankyung.com
Korea Economic Daily
hankyung@bloomingbit.ioThe Korea Economic Daily Global is a digital media where latest news on Korean companies, industries, and financial markets.
