Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently made it clear that the US won’t tolerate Iran’s threats to control the Strait of Hormuz, asserting that President Donald Trump has plenty of options to prevent such a move. Rubio, during an appearance on Good Morning America, delved into the US–Israeli war on Iran.
While he did hold back on some sensitive details, in a clip from the interview shared by The Department of State on X, Rubio stated that the U.S. is actually ahead of schedule in achieving its goals in Iran, expecting them to be met “in a matter of weeks, not months.”
“They (Iranian leaders) are making threats about controlling the Hormuz Strait in perpetuity, creating a tolling system and the like,” Rubio told ABC News, “That’s not going to be allowed to happen. And the president has a number of options available to him, if he so chooses, to prevent that from happening.”
Rubio has been worried about Iran following through on its word for some time now
This isn’t the first time Rubio has raised this concern. On Friday, March 27, he warned European allies during a trip to Cernay-la-Ville, France, that Iran might try to implement a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz once the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran concludes.
He told reporters after meeting with foreign ministers of the Group of Seven nations that “immediately after this thing ends, and we’re done with our objectives, the immediate challenge we’re going to face is an Iran that may decide that they want to set up a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz.” He added that such a move would be “illegal,” “unacceptable,” and “dangerous for the world,” stressing the importance of a global plan to address it.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump announced on Monday, March 30, that the U.S. is deep in “serious discussions” with what he called a “new” and “more reasonable” regime in Iran. This comes as the war enters its fifth week.
The president even shared the news on Truth Social, stating that “The United States of America is in serious discussions with A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME to end our Military Operations in Iran.” Details about this supposed “new” leadership remain under wraps, which is a bit frustrating, but I get it.
Rubio wouldn’t reveal the identities of these individuals, explaining that doing so could put them in a dangerous spot with other factions within Iran. He hinted at “fractures going on there internally,” suggesting that if new people with a “more reasonable vision of the future” are indeed in charge, it would be a positive development for everyone involved.
Despite these claims, Iranian officials are painting a different picture
Esmaeil Baqaei, spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, outright denied any direct talks with America on Monday, stating, “We have not had any negotiations with America.” He did acknowledge that messages have been exchanged through intermediaries, so there’s definitely communication happening, just not face-to-face.
Trump expressed cautious optimism on Sunday, telling reporters he could “see a deal” being made with Iran soon, though he admitted “it’s possible we won’t.” He pointed to Iran allowing 20 oil tankers to pass through the crucial Strait of Hormuz as a positive sign. However, his tone also included some pretty stark threats.
He warned that if a deal isn’t reached soon, and if the Hormuz Strait isn’t “immediately ‘Open for Business,’ we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet ‘touched.'” Trump also stated that he wants the U.S. to “take the oil in Iran,” adding, “Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options.”
When asked about how the president would go about taking Kharg Island and if it would require American troops, Rubio remained noncommittal.
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