Washington, United States / Tehran, Iran, 21 October (H.S.): US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that reaching a peace agreement with Iran would be extremely difficult, warning that economic pressure on Tehran would continue until it stops targeting commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the strategic waterway would remain closed until Washington accepted Tehran’s conditions. He also stated that indirect negotiations between the two countries were continuing through Pakistan and Qatar.

According to reports by Al Jazeera and CBS News, Rubio and Araghchi made the remarks while speaking to their respective national media outlets. Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a significant statement, saying Washington was prepared to undertake further military action against Iran. “We want to ensure that Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon,” he said.

Iran has also insisted that its enriched uranium will remain within the country. Tehran has rejected a proposal to place approximately 400 kilograms of nuclear material under Russian custody. The announcement comes as Pakistan’s Army Chief, Asim Munir, is visiting Tehran to advance mediation efforts between Iran and the United States.

Iranian officials have maintained that Washington must rebuild trust before negotiations can resume. They have cited previous US attacks during diplomatic engagements and Tehran’s seven-point proposal as key concerns.

Meanwhile, the White House has clarified that the United States has no plans to attack Iran before the midterm elections scheduled for November 3.

Araghchi also said that relations between Tehran and Moscow had never been closer. His remarks came after US President Donald Trump said that Russia was providing virtually no assistance to Iran amid the ongoing war in the Middle East.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar