Rubio says US-Iran strait talks progress, deal could come 'very shortly'

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that Washington and Tehran have yet to finalize 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 passages, 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 traveling between Asia, the Middle East and Europe through the Suez Canal.

Earlier Tuesday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said talks on the Strait of Hormuz with Iran were ongoing, and an agreement to reopen the strategic waterway could be reached Tuesday or Wednesday.

Rubio said a potential agreement on the straits was receiving more attention, but the US sought to secure an “ultimate deal” with Iran on denuclearization.