In a Fox News interview Monday, Senator Marco Rubio said Iran’s recent peace proposal falls short of U.S. conditions for ending the war, now entering its third month.
Two officials familiar with the matter told ABC News that Tehran’s proposal would loosen Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz in return for lifting the U.S. blockade, while pushing talks about Iran’s nuclear program to an unspecified later date.
Rubio said the nuclear question is central to the U.S. position. “The nuclear question is the reason why we’re in this in the first place,” he said.
Photographs from Tehran show worshippers performing Friday prayers beneath portraits of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior military figures killed during the U.S.-Israel campaign at Tehran University, April 24, 2026. (Vahid Salemi/AP)
Rubio also insisted the United States would not accept Iran retaining control of the Strait of Hormuz or charging fees for passage. “Those are international waterways. They cannot normalize, nor can we tolerate them trying to normalize, a system in which the Iranians decide who gets to use an international waterway and how much you have to pay them to use it,” he said.
He voiced skepticism about Iran’s ability to follow through on a deal, saying U.S. negotiators would effectively be negotiating with multiple Iranian actors. “Those Iranians then have to negotiate with other Iranians in order to figure out what they can agree to, what they can offer, what they’re willing to do, even who they’re willing to meet with,” Rubio said.
On the question of new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, Rubio said U.S. officials have “indications” that he is alive and noted officials in Tehran say so, but added there is uncertainty about whether he holds the same authority and credibility as his father. “I think the question between alive and in power are two different questions,” he said.
Rubio also suggested the proposal may not reflect the backing of all factions in Tehran, questioning whether the person who submitted it had the authority to do so. Still, he said he believes elements in Iran “are serious about getting themselves out of the mess that they’re in.”
– ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston