Rubio says Iran negotiations will take ‘a few days’ as Tehran fumes over US strikes |
Talks between the United States and Iran on extending the ceasefire and reopening the Strait of Hormuz will take several more days, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday, as Tehran threatened retaliation for overnight US strikes, which it called a violation of the truce and a sign of “bad faith.”
The US military characterized Monday night’s strikes in southern Iran as defensive, saying targets included missile launch sites and minelaying boats, and said the US acted with “restraint” in light of the weekslong ceasefire.
Speaking to reporters after the strikes, Rubio said there is “a lot of talking back and forth going on about specific language in the initial document.”
“So, it’ll take a few days,” he said.
He added that US President Donald Trump will not accept a bad deal and says the critical point at the moment is reopening the Strait of Hormuz without Iran being allowed to charge a toll for ships to pass through the crucial waterway.
“The straits need to be open, unimpeded, without tolls,” he said.
As the negotiations with Iran near a critical point, Trump was set to hold a rare cabinet meeting Wednesday at the Camp David presidential retreat as Iran talks near a critical point, a White House official told AFP.
The choice of the secluded retreat in the Maryland mountains — which Trump hardly ever visits, in a break with previous presidents — reflects the sensitive nature of discussions.
The New York Post reported that Iran is set to dominate the meeting, which is expected to be attended by all cabinet members. The economy is also on the agenda, it said.
Trump said Saturday that a deal with Tehran to end the Middle East war was close, but negotiations are still tense, with the US leader warning that strikes on Iran could resume.
Camp David has been the scene of major US-led diplomatic developments in the past, including the 1978 accords between Israel and Egypt under President Jimmy Carter and a failed 2000 Israeli-Palestinian summit under Bill Clinton.
Trump has, however, been an infrequent visitor, and this visit will be only the second time that Trump has gone to Camp David in his second term, with the first being just days before the US launched strikes on Iran’s nuclear program in June 2025. During his first term, Trump said he had canceled a planned summit with Taliban leaders at the retreat following an attack on US forces.
Iran says strikes show ‘bad faith’
Reacting to the overnight US strikes, Iran denounced them as a sign of “bad faith and unreliability,” warning that Washington would bear responsibility for “all consequences,” without elaborating.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran will leave no act of aggression unanswered,” Iran’s foreign ministry added in a........