Rubio: US has not offered Iran sanctions relief to reopen strait

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump's negotiating team has not offered Iran sanctions relief in exchange for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and insisted that any sanctions relief was tied to Tehran giving up its nuclear program.

"Right now, everything that's been discussed with them (Iran) is that … any sanctions relief is condition-based, which means it has to be in return for the reason why those sanctions were put in place in the first place, which is their nuclear program," Rubio told a Senate hearing.

Testifying in Congress publicly for the first time since the Iran war began, Rubio said there will be sanctions relief for Iran if they agree to give up their nuclear activities.

"Iran is being sanctioned because they've highly enriched uranium. Iran is being sanctioned because of their nuclear activities. If they agree to give up those things, there will be sanctions relief associated with their commitment and compliance with those agreements," he said.



FReuters