US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday said talks with Iran had made some progress but that all countries should reject Tehran’s plans to impose a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking at a Nato meeting in the southern Swedish city of Helsingborg, Mr Rubio said tolls “can't happen” and that he did not want to overstate any momentum in the talks.
“There’s been some slight progress, I don’t want to exaggerate it, but there’s been a little bit of movement, and that’s good,” Mr Rubio said alongside Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte. “The fundamentals remain the same. Iran can never have a nuclear weapon, it just cannot.”
When asked by The National if he was feeling positive a deal could be reached, Mr Rubio said he did not "characterise it as being optimistic or pessimistic".
"I think there's been some progress, but ... we're not there yet, and hopefully that'll change," he said at a press briefing.
Pakistan is acting as mediator in the conflict, and several top officials have travelled from Islamabad to Tehran this week, including Interior Minister Mohsen Naqvi, who met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Mr Rubio said Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, will arrive in Iran as early as Friday.
Pakistan had done an “admirable job” and remains the primary mediator in the Iran war, he added. Reuters reported that Qatar had sent a negotiating team to Tehran on Friday in co-ordination with US to help reach a deal.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said his country is “doing our best” to help Iran and the US reach an agreement.
Tolls in strait
Iran is planning to create a tolling system in the strait and was “trying to convince Oman” to join them “in this tolling system in an international waterway”, Mr Rubio told reporters.
“There is not a country in the world that should accept that. I don’t know of a country in the world that’s in favour of it, except Iran,” he said.
A draft UN Security Council resolution that demands Iran stops obstructing shipping in the strait, removes sea mines and halts “illegal tolls” now has more co-sponsors than any other resolution in history, he added. Its fate remains unclear, however, as veto holders Russia and China have expressed serious concerns.
“Unfortunately, a couple of countries on the Security Council are thinking about vetoing it. That would be lamentable,” the Secretary said. “We are doing everything we can, though, to achieve the sort of global consensus that's necessary to prevent this from happening, and we're trying to use the United Nations.
“I don't know of anyone in the world that would, that should, be in favour of a tolling system in an international waterway, that's just not acceptable. It can't happen.
“If that were to happen in the Straits of Hormuz, it will happen in five other places around the world.”
Transatlantic tensions
The meeting of foreign ministers in Sweden marks the first time the Scandinavian nation has hosted such an event since it joined the alliance in 2024.
Countries are keen to show Mr Rubio that they are increasing financial commitments fast enough to assuage US President Donald Trump, who has long accused Nato of not spending enough, while Washington picks up the tab.
“The good news is the money is now coming in. Defence spending is rapidly ramping up … tens of billions, and over the years, there's hundreds of billions coming in,” Mr Rutte said.
The meeting is ostensibly focused on spending commitments and renewing Nato's support for Ukraine, but Mr Rutte said Iran its grip on the strait were front and centre.
“When it comes to the next phase, you see now quite massively Europeans hearing the message from the US and pre-positioning essential equipment ships and uncrewed systems, and all kinds of other important contributions,” Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte.
"In response to a question from The National, he said Europe has better mine hunting and de-mining capabilities than the US so could play an important role in the strait.
“When it comes to Europe, there are a lot of assets, and a lot of those assets are not being pre-positioned,” he said.
He added that “everybody acknowledges” that the US degrading Iran's nuclear and long-range missile capability “is crucial for the Middle East, for Europe, for the whole world”.
Troops to Europe
Mr Rutte welcomed an abrupt announcement by Mr Trump, who on Thursday night said he was sending an additional 5,000 troops to Poland. It comes as the alliance’s senior envoys brace for cuts in US military resources.
Mr Trump's announcement reversed a plan by Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth to suspend an army deployment. Officials are on edge after American decisions on troop reductions in Germany and Poland as a result of Mr Trump’s anger at what he perceives as reluctance from Europe to support the war with Iran.
"I understand Nato's valuable to Europe, and it should be. It also has to be valuable to the United States," Mr Rubio said.
Mr Rubio and the State Department are pushing for a diplomatic effort, called the Maritime Freedom Construct, that would form a coalition to help deal with the strait.
It could dovetail with efforts proposed by Britain and France to help reopen and police the strait, but only after a durable ceasefire is implemented.
"I don't know if that would be a Nato mission necessarily, but it would certainly be Nato countries that can contribute," Mr Rubio said.
