Thursday, July 23, 2026

Beijing - Agencies:

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio affirmed that Iran is in a major predicament, noting that President Donald Trump has many options if Tehran does not cooperate.

Following his meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers' conference in Manila, which lasted about 90 minutes, Rubio said that Iran has not fulfilled its commitments under the Memorandum of Understanding, explaining that opening the Strait of Hormuz was a key clause in the memorandum but it violated it. He added that Iran targets international navigation through an international waterway, noting that Tehran signed the Memorandum of Understanding, which stipulates not targeting ships.

He affirmed that Washington defends freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and continues to eliminate Iran's military capabilities that threaten maritime navigation. He stressed that the United States will not accept any country's control over sea passages.

The US minister announced that the United States would like to reach an agreement with Iran that ensures it does not acquire nuclear weapons. Rubio considered that China has not changed the course of Iran's war, noting that nothing Beijing did changed the course of the conflict with Iran, and that it was cooperative at times.

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