Publish Date: Mon, 25 May 2026 (17:41 IST)
Updated Date: Mon, 25 May 2026 (17:42 IST)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday the US and Iran had "a pretty solid thing" with regards to a deal to end the conflict, warning, however, that "alternatives" would be explored if no diplomatic solution was reached.
There 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 matter, and hopefully we can pull ?it off," Rubio told reporters in the Indian capital, New Delhi, where he has been on an official visit.
The remarks come after US President Donald Trump said Sunday that he had told his negotiators not to "rush" the deal, which he said on Saturday had been "largely negotiated."
Iran's Tasnim news agency, however, said on Sunday that as far as it knew, key clauses of a possible deal remained "unresolved at this time," including the issue of frozen Iranian assets.
Oil prices fall amid deal hopes
Oil prices fell to their lowest point in two weeks amid reports that the US and Iran are approaching a peace deal.
Brent crude futures fell $4.71 (€4.05), or 4.55%, ?to $98.83 (€84.88) a barrel by 2234 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate was at $92.03 a barrel, down $4.57, or 4.73%.
Both contracts reached their lowest level since May 7 earlier in the session.
Oil prices have spiralled since the war in Iran broke out, largely because the virtual closure of the Strait of Hormuz has cut off a vital transport chokepoint.
No agreement with US imminent — Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman
Iran said Monday that Tehran and Washington had come to an understanding over many issues pertaining to a possible peace deal but contradicted US statements suggesting a complete agreement was likely to be reached very soon.
"It is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion," Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said during a weekly news briefing.
"But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent — no one can make such a claim," he said, saying Washington had been contradictory and inconsistent in its statements.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said a deal to end the war could be concluded on Monday.
Baqaei also said that a 14-point framework plancurrently being drafted by Iran "is focused on ending the war" across the region, including in Lebanon and repeated that details regarding Iran's nuclear program would be discussed only after both sides agreed on that framework.
He said the Iranian plan contained clauses on ending the US naval blockade on Iranian ports and arrangements for safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz, a key global chokepoint for oil and gas transport that has been virtually closed amid the conflict.
