MANAMA, Bahrain: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that while President Donald Trump has a range of options available if Iran fails to comply with the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, the United States remains committed to pursuing a diplomatic resolution and will give diplomacy every opportunity to succeed.
“The president has multiple options at his disposal if Iran goes back on their word or decides they don’t want to make a deal. Let’s hope that’s not the case; we don’t want it to be the case. We’re going to give diplomacy every chance to work,” he told reporters in Bahrain.
SECRETARY RUBIO: “We’re going to give diplomacy every chance to work.” pic.twitter.com/TAX1xk9OJo
— Department of State (@StateDept) June 25, 2026
Last week, Tehran and Washington signed the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, laying the groundwork for the negotiations, after a 40-day war that was followed by weeks of ceasefire.
US-Iran MoU creates outlines for negotiations
Secretary Rubio said the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) should not be viewed as a final agreement, describing it instead as a framework that establishes the basis and parameters for future negotiations.
“There’s no doubt that as part of that negotiation, specific terms like years and limits will be discussed, and that includes the mechanisms by which it’s verified and enforced,” he replied to a reporter asking if the MoU discusses for how many years Iran cannot develop nuclear weapons.
Iran’s reconstruction fund not discussed with GCC
Rubio told reporters that $300 billion fund for Iran’s reconstruction was not discussed during the Gulf Cooperation Council meeting held on Thursday.
“The reconstruction … is way down the road and that’s something that will be dealt with at the appropriate time in this process,” he added.
‘Fees, tolls are the same thing to me’: Rubio
Rubio reiterated his opposition to proposed Iranian fees on vessels moving through the Strait of Hormuz, stating, “Fees and tolls are the same thing to me.
Also Read: US Opposes Maritime Fees on Strategic Waterways, Rubio Says
“If you’re paying someone to go there, I don’t care if you call it a fee, or a toll, or a donation; it’s a toll, and that’s how we’re going to define it,” he told reporters. “That’s an international waterway. There isn’t a nation on Earth that supports having to pay money to go through the straits.”
“That sort of system is not only unwise, it’s unworkable.”
US watching is ships moving in Strait of Hormuz
Responding to a question about the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington’s primary concern is ensuring that vessels can continue to navigate the strategic waterway without disruption.
“We’ve reached a point now on this where you’re hearing, for example, the Iranians say one thing, and something else is actually happening,” he told the press conference.
“Here’s what I would tell everybody: it is now obvious to us, and I think should be obvious to all of you that the Iranian system is going to continue to produce all sorts of maximalist rhetoric,” he added.
Rubio said that the US is “not interested in press conferences” by the Iranians, but rather if vessels in the waterway are moving.
“If ships are moving as they should be moving, then that’s what we’re going to judge and that’s what we’re going to react to,” he states. “If, on the other hand, this rhetoric is backed by actual ships being threatened and ships not moving, it’s a violation of the agreement and we’re going to have a problem with it.”
“There is zero support among the Gulf countries for any sort of toll or fees or anything that charges for the use of international waters,” Rubio said.
Rubio is currently on a three-nation Gulf tour, which began in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday. His visit marks the first trip by a senior US official to the region since Washington and Tehran reached an agreement last week aimed at ending the conflict and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
