Secretary of State Marco Rubio tempered expectations for a possible deal to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran while gaggling with the press before departing for Agra, India, overnight amid his ongoing visit to the country.
Rubio said an Iran deal is still a “work in progress” but signaled confidence that the disruption to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz can be addressed.
“We have what I think is a pretty solid thing on the table in terms of their ability to open up the straits, get the straits open, enter into a very real, significant, time-limited negotiation on the nuclear matters, and hopefully we can pull it off,” Rubio said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to journalists before boarding his plane at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on May 25, 2026.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Rubio attributed the delay in negotiations to the “Iranian system.”
Regarding Lebanon — where Israeli strikes and Hezbollah attacks continue despite a ceasefire agreed by Israeli and Lebanese leaders — Rubio said the U.S. delegation is working on that deal separately from any agreement that is made with Iran.
“Lebanon, we’re working on separately. With Lebanon, we are engaged now. We have a 45-day ceasefire. We’ve had weekly meetings now, and ongoing daily engagements between the government of Lebanon and Israel,” Rubio said. “The problem is not Lebanon and Israel; the problem is Hezbollah.”
“As long as an armed Hezbollah exists, it’s going to be hard to achieve peace in Lebanon,” Rubio said.
Asked if a ceasefire would include Israel stopping strikes within Lebanon, Rubio said Israel has the right to defend itself and to prevent strikes against Israel from within Lebanon. The issue is “being understood during the ceasefire, and now in Lebanon, and it’ll be understood beyond that,” Rubio said.
-ABC News’ Alex Ederson