As the war’s outcome remained uncertain, Rubio told reporters he was seeing limited movement in the U.S.-Iran talks even while he cautioned against overstating progress. He made the comments Friday after remarks by President Donald Trump that he was holding off on a military strike against Iran because “serious negotiations” were underway, according to the account Rubio gave of the diplomacy unfolding at the same time.
Rubio said he did not want to exaggerate the progress, characterizing it as “a little bit of movement and that’s good.” He said he also was looking to manage expectations for the pace of negotiations, which he said had produced repeated claims of movement in recent weeks without a deal still being reached.
The secretary of state spoke ahead of or alongside a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden. At that meeting, Rubio discussed what the alliance could do in helping “police” the Strait of Hormuz once the war ends, and he also raised the issue of reopening the strait with other foreign ministers.
Rubio said Washington needs a “plan B” if the U.S. and Iran fail to reach an agreement. He added that he did not expect Iran to “voluntarily reopen” the strait, saying, “Someone’s going to have to do something about it, OK?” and that Iran was not going to do so on its own.
While the U.S. and Iran negotiated, the regional mediation effort expanded, with Pakistan sending its top army officer to Tehran. Pakistani officials said Field Marshal Asim Munir arrived Friday for talks with Iranian leaders and other Pakistani participants, describing it as the third round of meetings between Pakistani and Iranian officials in recent days.
Officials said Munir was joined in Tehran by Pakistan’s interior minister, who had already met Iranian leaders twice this week. Pakistan’s push was tied to Munir’s earlier role in facilitating face-to-face talks between the U.S. and Iran in Islamabad last month, and a regional official said Qatar also sent a delegation to Tehran working alongside other countries including Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
In parallel with diplomacy, the Strait of Hormuz remained a focal point for military planning and commercial shipping. The report said Iran had effectively closed the strait, and U.S. Central Command said the U.S. was blockading Iranian ports and had redirected 94 commercial vessels and disabled four others since mid-April.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, said the American military had not found or destroyed any explosive mines in the Strait of Hormuz so far, but that it was still searching. The official also said no ships had been struck or damaged by mines in the strait, even as some commercial traffic had moved through at much lower volumes than before the war began.
The article said Trump ordered the military to begin mine-clearing efforts as part of a broader effort to get commercial ships to traverse the strait again after several attacks by Iran, and that U.S. officials have said they targeted and destroyed Iran’s mine-laying capability as part of airstrikes across the country. The reporting added that no evidence of mine-laying by Iranians has emerged since the conflict began.
Beyond the talks and the strait, the reporting described political tension around Trump’s decision to give more negotiations a chance. It said Trump’s call to pause attacks sparked tension with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with an official describing a “dramatic” phone conversation about the Iranian negotiations and characterizing Israel’s anger at efforts to strike a deal.
The White House declined to comment on the substance or tenor of the call, and Trump told reporters after the conversation that Netanyahu “will do whatever I want him to do.” The reporting said the comments were among the first public indications of daylight between the leaders since they launched the war.
The article also described additional regional military activity during the conflict, saying Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates separately launched attacks on Iran and Iranian-backed Shiite militias in Iraq. It reported that a Western diplomat and regional officials, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information, said the strikes targeted military facilities, with one account also describing Saudi attacks aimed at hideouts of Iraqi militias such as Kataib Hezbollah.
It said Saudi Arabia had briefed Baghdad before deciding to strike, and that the UAE pushed for a collective military response from Gulf countries. The UAE, when asked for comment, referred to a May 16 statement saying its measures were within defensive actions aimed at protecting its sovereignty, civilians and vital infrastructure, while Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Iran had not publicly addressed being targeted.