The Japan Times - Rubio hopeful for Iran deal, insists on nuclear curbs

"There is the prospect before us, which could happen today, it could happen tomorrow, it could happen next week," Rubio told a Congressional panel.

Rubio was testifying in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as the three-month US-Israeli war on Iran appears to have reached an impasse, with the closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz continuing to disrupt global energy markets.

Rubio insisted that Tehran must reopen the shipping channel for any peace agreement to take hold, while also agreeing to curb its nuclear activities in order to see sanctions lifted.

"Iran is being sanctioned because they've highly enriched uranium, Iran is being sanctioned because of their nuclear activities," Rubio said. "If they agree to give up those things, there will be sanctions relief."

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed confidence that a deal with Iran was near, but talks have stalled. And although a ceasefire has largely held since early April, Iranian and US forces have traded strikes in recent days.

Rubio sought to downplay the hostilities, saying the conflict had effectively ended. "Well, the war is over," he said.

While acknowledging that the Iranians "still have a lot of drones," Rubio defended the decision to go to war, saying it has significantly reduced the Islamic republic's ability to do harm.

"Iran has no navy left, they've lost a substantial percentage of their defense industrial base, that Iran has lost a substantial percentage of their missile launchers," Rubio said.

He added: "And their economy is far worse today, and I mean, far worse today than it was six to nine months ago."

Rubio also stated that Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who was wounded in US-Israeli attacks and has not been seen in public since assuming office, is alive and increasingly active.

"I think there are indications out there that he is increasingly engaging at some level," Rubio told the panel.

Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, succeeded his father Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the first wave of US-Israeli strikes that launched the war on February 28.

T.Sato--JT