US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the latest discussions with Iran were positive and significant but did not constitute a major breakthrough, adding that any agreement would require sustained work over time and that President Donald Trump retained military options.
Rubio described Tuesday’s contacts as a continuation of previous conversations in which the sides exchanged ideas and messages.
The central challenge, he said, was whether Iran wanted to act as “a country” or “a revolution” seeking regional dominance. He associated the former with President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the latter with the IRGC and Iran’s ultimate decision-makers.
Rubio said potential agreements had repeatedly failed after being referred back to Tehran’s revolutionary establishment, citing the collapse of an earlier memorandum of understanding after the IRGC attacked shipping.
“That is a real impediment,” he said, while adding that Washington would continue pursuing opportunities for an agreement.
He accused Iran of having “killed” the memorandum by violating it and warned that Tehran faced a choice between becoming a prosperous country at peace with its neighbors or facing “extraordinary economic and potentially military repercussions.”
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