President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior officials are still hammering out the last details of a possible agreement to end the war with Iran.
Rubio repeated the U.S. demand that the Strait of Hormuz be reopened “one way or the other” when asked about recent American strikes. “The straits have to be open, they’re going to be open,” he said during a trip to India. “What’s happening there is unlawful, it’s illegal, it’s unsustainable for the world, it’s unacceptable.”
He said talks were underway in Qatar. “There were some talks going on in Qatar today, so we’ll see if we can make progress,” Rubio said. “I think it’s a lot of talking back and forth going on about specific language in the initial document, so it’ll take a few days. The president expressed his desire to make it. He’s either going to make a good deal or no deal.”
**Strikes during a fragile cease-fire**
U.S. Central Command said American forces carried out “self-defense strikes” in southern Iran on Monday “to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces.” Capt. Tim Hawkins, a CENTCOM spokesman, said the targets included missile launch sites and Iranian boats trying to place mines. He declined to identify which ships came under fire, where they were, or the exact location of every strike.
A senior U.S. military official said some of the dozens of American warplanes and nearly two dozen Navy ships enforcing a blockade near the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea — including two aircraft carriers and their escorts — were threatened by Iranian surface-to-air missiles. The official said the strikes were near the port and navy base at Bandar Abbas.
The two sides have clashed in other ways since a cease-fire took hold about six weeks ago. Monday’s strikes came as Iranian officials gathered in Qatar for talks on ending the war. CENTCOM later said further strikes followed attempted IRGC attacks on commercial shipping in the strait.
**Tehran: progress, but no imminent signing**
Iran said it and Washington have reached understandings on many issues but warned a final deal is not imminent. “It is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said. “But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent — no one can make such a claim.” He accused Washington of shifting positions.
Trump said that if he makes a deal, it will be a “good and proper one,” contrasting it with the Obama-era nuclear accord.
A senior administration official said Iran has agreed in principle to a deal that would include eliminating highly enriched uranium, reopening Hormuz in exchange for an end to the U.S. blockade, and some sanctions relief if enrichment is curbed. The official said the basics are largely settled and that Tehran appears more open to a bargain than before the military campaign, but enforcement of any long-term no-enrichment pledge still has to be locked down. Officials say they want an agreement that goes further than the 2015 deal.
Work on the final language continues. Both sides say the next few days will show whether the talks produce a deal — or none at all.
