Americas

Americas

Rubio says Iran sanctions relief only for nuclear concessions

04 June 2026 08:59 (UTC +04:00)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme have entered a highly technical phase and could take between 30 and 90 days to complete, foreign media reports.

Rubio stressed that Tehran must first engage in detailed discussions on the future of its highly enriched uranium stockpile and the long-term status of its uranium enrichment activities.

He also made clear that any U.S. sanctions relief would depend on Iran meeting nuclear-related commitments, rather than on measures such as reopening the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring Washington's focus on securing a comprehensive nuclear agreement.

In his first public congressional testimony since the Iran war began, Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted that sanctions relief would be strictly conditional on Iran abandoning its nuclear activities.

He rejected the idea of offering relief merely to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, framing the talks as a two-phase process: first, securing maritime safety, and second, negotiating verifiable disposal of enriched uranium and severe limits on enrichment.

Rubio acknowledged that releasing frozen assets could be discussed only after compliance, but warned of risks that funds could fuel proxy activities.