US-Iran strait deal could come ‘very shortly’: Rubio

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that Washington and Tehran had yet to finalise talks on passage through crucial international waterways, but he hopes an agreement will come “very shortly.”
Following reports and senior US officials’ remarks that both sides are close to reaching a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Rubio told reporters at the State Department that “there’s been progress made in those talks, but not finality yet.”
“We’re hoping that will happen very shortly,” he said.
Claiming that some commercial vessels have been able to transit despite efforts to block their passage, Rubio said that nonetheless, “there’s a conversation and a negotiation that we are involved in between Oman and Iran on how more ships can be able to go through there safely in the short term.”
“There’s oil moving right now through the straits. So, the straits are open,” he said, appearing to refer to the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb waterway between Yemen and the Horn of Africa, after Yemen’s Houthi group threatened vessels linked to Saudi Arabian ports.
Bab el-Mandeb, between Yemen and the Horn of Africa, connects the Gulf of Aden with the Red Sea and serves as a major route for vessels travelling between Asia, the Middle East and Europe through the Suez Canal.
Rubio said a potential agreement on the straits was receiving more attention, but the US sought to secure an “ultimate deal” with Iran on denuclearisation.
US Treasury secretary says Hormuz deal with Iran may happen ‘today or tomorrow’
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that the Hormuz deal with Iran to open the waterway may happen ‘today or tomorrow’, noting that this will stabilise energy prices, according to AFP.
“We are in talks with the Iranians, and I think there is a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the strait and move towards a more normalised position in this conflict,” Bessent remarked in an interview with CNBC.
While answering a question as to whether a deal would allow Iran to charge a toll on shipping using the strait, he said: “I think it would be freedom of movement.”
“Even though things are still a little dicey there over the past few days, we’ve (seen) quite a few ships coming out even now,” Bessent said.
“So you know, I’d expect the energy prices to settle back down, which, as I said, will be good for the entire world,” he further added.