Iran’s agreed to negotiate ‘aspects of nuclear programme’, says key Trump aide Rubio

Rubio claimed “that just a month ago, just a year ago, they were refusing to even mention” these aspects. But he quickly struck a more realistic note.

This was “not a guarantee,” he said, that the negotiations will ultimately lead to a “deal that’s acceptable” by Congress. He said the instability of Iran’s leadership had made negotiations difficult.

VIDEO | Washington: “Iran has agreed to negotiate aspects of their nuclear program,” says US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

(Source: Third Party) pic.twitter.com/tGPqIh5U3V

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 2, 2026

Rubio, a key Trump administration official, took on a host of questions about the government’s diplomatic efforts around the world that showed signs of hitting a wall. He is appearing for back-to-back hearings on Capitol Hill for the first time since the Iran war began on February 28 with US and Israeli coordinated strikes.

US will like to end Russia oil sanction waivers ‘as soon as possible’  

Rubio didn’t specifically commit that US will not extend the waiver on Russian oil sanctions, which have directly impacted India. But, the top Republican leader said “it would like to end it as soon as we possibly can”.

Senior Democrats in the committee questioned Rubio on whether the US will extend a waiver on Russia oil sanctions.

Currently, Washington has extended waivers for countries importing Russian oil if tankers are already at sea in order to ease oil shortages caused by the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Rubio said the decision will ultimately be made by the US Treasury Department, “but I will tell you, it depends on the circumstances at the time.”

“We would like to end it as soon as we possibly can, because the underlying policy of this country has been to sanction their oil. These are time limited waivers for the purpose of opening up more global supply,” Rubio said.