US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that a deal to end the war with Iran could materialize “today”, adding that Israel had the right to defend itself against attack.
“We thought we might have some news last night, maybe today, I wouldn’t read too much into it,” Rubio said in New Delhi, referring to the potential agreement.
“Israel always has a right to protect itself… if Hezbollah is going to launch missiles or launches missiles at them, Israel has every right to respond to that,” he told reporters as he departed the Indian capital, where he has been on an official visit.
“We have what I think is a pretty solid thing on the table in terms of their ability to open up the straits, get the straits open,” he added.
“It has a lot of support in the Gulf… every country that we’ve walked through it (with) understands it’s not just very reasonable, but it’s the right thing for the world to get done.”
Rubio also voiced confidence that Iran would “enter into a very real, significant, time-limited negotiation on the nuclear matter”.
He insisted that President Donald Trump is “not going to make a bad deal”.
Rubio’s remarks come after Trump said Sunday that he had told his negotiators not to “rush” the deal.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his commitment to ending Tehran’s nuclear program and ensuring freedom of military action “on all fronts, including Lebanon.”
Tehran and Washington confirmed progress in the Islamabad-led talks aimed at ending the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran on February 28.
While the White House did not disclose details of the understanding, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei said on Saturday that work was underway on a 14-point memorandum of understanding. This memorandum stipulates, in particular, an end to the war on all fronts, with discussions on contentious issues, most notably the nuclear file, to be postponed for a later stage of 30 to 60 days.
Regarding the nuclear file, Rubio said that an agreement with Tehran on this matter could not be reached “in 72 hours.” In what appeared to be a justification for not including the nuclear issue in the initial understanding, Rubio told reporters, “We’re not putting it off. The nuclear talks are very technical. You can’t resolve a nuclear issue in 72 hours.”
He emphasized that “nothing has changed. The president has been clear. Iran will never get a nuclear weapon,” and that Washington prefers to ensure this through diplomatic means.
He affirmed that reaching an agreement on the nuclear issue “will take some time, you know. It can’t take years, but we will need some time to resolve the technical issues.” (AFP)
