Politics

Rubio Rips Iran’s ‘Outrageous’ Demands To Reopen Strait Of Hormuz As Trump Meets Key Mediator

Screenshot/Rumble/U.S. Senate

President Donald Trump is meeting with Qatar’s prime minister on Monday — and what happens between the two leaders could help decide whether the war with Iran winds down or picks back up.

Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, has been the main go-between for the U.S. and Iran for most of the war, according to Reuters. He is also expected to meet with Vice President JD Vance, who led the talks behind the brief truce in June.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Sunday that he did not see a deal coming any time soon, CNN reported.

“Right now, it hasn’t been very productive because the Iranian demands are simply not just unacceptable, but in some cases outrageous and ridiculous and really not realistic,” Rubio said.

Iran has offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the U.S. ends its blockade of Iranian ports, but U.S. and Gulf officials told Reuters they do not think an agreement is close. The war has caused energy shortages around the world.

Normally, roughly a fifth of the oil the world consumes passes through the strait, which Iran has restricted since the war began, Agence France-Presse reported.

Iranian state media claimed that the U.S. struck Qeshm Island overnight, Reuters reported, though the U.S. has not commented on it.

The White House and U.S. Central Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

In a phone call with CNN on Sunday, Trump said that new strikes on Iran are “highly unlikely” as long as negotiations continue to make progress.

“It depends on whether or not they sign a very strong agreement,” Trump said. “The answer is highly unlikely it’s going to be necessary.”

Trump also said Sunday that what he called Operation Iron Gate had taken effect, according to the White House’s Rapid Response X account.

“That means nothing comes in by land, and as you know with the naval blockade, nothing comes in by water,” Trump said.

He also said that the military has already chosen 38 bridges in Iran that it could take out “in literally one hour” if that changes.

U.S. forces fired on a commercial ship on Saturday and disabled it after the U.S. said the vessel tried to get around the blockade, Al Jazeera reported.

The Iranian plan calls for the U.S. to end the blockade, lift some sanctions and halt its bombing campaign, after which Iran would reopen the strait, according to Reuters. Negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program and the remaining sanctions would happen later.

Al Jazeera reported that Iran wants seven conditions met before the proposal is even considered, one of which is the return of its frozen funds.

Esmaeil Baghaei, a spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said Monday that the plan was the most reasonable proposal anyone has put forward, Reuters reported.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Sunday that two tankers had hit mines in the strait and caught fire, AFP reported — even though Central Command has said that all of the mines in the strait were cleared.