Overview
- Iran has floated a phased plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz through intermediaries in Pakistan, with nuclear talks pushed to a later stage, according to a U.S. official and people briefed on the talks.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran’s terms would force shippers to coordinate with Tehran, which he argued would let Iran decide who uses an international waterway.
- Rubio called Iran’s leverage over the strait an "economic nuclear weapon" and said Tehran boasts it can hold a large share of the world’s energy supply hostage.
- The United States is enforcing a naval blockade that targets Iranian vessels rather than global commercial traffic, which Rubio framed as pressure to raise the cost of Iran’s actions.
- Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration is discussing Iran’s proposal, and Rubio warned that a nuclear-armed Iran would limit U.S. options against groups like Hezbollah and Hamas.