Rubio hopes for deal with Iran, says Mojtaba Khamenei ‘increasingly engaging’
- Rubio testifies before Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
- Says Iran must limit nuclear programme for sanctions relief.
- US urges reopening of Strait of Hormuz for shipping safety.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who was wounded in US-Israeli attacks and has not been seen in public since assuming office, is alive and increasingly active.
“I think there are indications out there that he is increasingly engaging at some level,” Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, succeeded his father Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated in the first wave of US-Israeli strikes that launched the war on February 28.
Rubio was testifying in front of the Senate panel as talks on ending the three-month-old war that has engulfed the Middle East and triggered a global energy crisis have stalled.
Rubio expressed hope for a deal with Iran, while insisting that Tehran must severely limit its nuclear programme in order to see sanctions lifted.
“There is the prospect before us, which could happen today, it could happen tomorrow, it could happen next week,” Rubio said.
Rubio said that Tehran must agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping channel for Gulf oil and gas.
“They have to announce very clearly ‘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.”
Additionally, he said: “They have to agree on negotiating severe and long-term limitations and/or cancellation of enrichment activity.”
Rubio continued: “Iran is being sanctioned because they’ve highly enriched uranium, Iran is being sanctioned because of their nuclear activities, if they agree to give up those things, there will be sanctions relief.”
