The United States remains willing to pursue diplomatic engagement with Iran, though Washington says Tehran is currently violating an interim agreement by attacking commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated Sunday.
"The straits are supposed to be open - free of tolls, free of attacks, free of all the things they're doing against these ships.... You can't have a MoU [Memorandum of Understanding] that's alive if they're violating the terms of it," Rubio told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
Rubio noted that Iran has signaled through direct channels and intermediaries its interest in returning to negotiations. However, he said internal divisions appear to be widening within Iran's system, between those recognizing economic hardship and those taking a more militant stance.
"So they'll have to work out that split internally. We're going to continue to respond. If the door opens to diplomacy, if the guys that want to do something productive for Iran win and take control of that system or take control of the negotiations, that'll be a very positive development. That's not where we are tonight, unfortunately," Rubio said.
The military campaign's current objective is to degrade Iran's capacity to target shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. "Other countries should join us in this effort, but the United States is involved not just in protecting those ships but in targeting the places that they use to launch these missiles and drones," Rubio said.
He cited Iran's economic difficulties, including high inflation on essential goods, declining revenues, food shortages, and fuel scarcity. Despite Iran's resource wealth, Rubio said the regime directs funds toward proxy groups rather than domestic needs, describing this as sponsorship of terrorism.