Rubio Says Progress Made on Hormuz Crisis, Good News May Come Soon

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said significant progress has been made in the past 48 hours on the Strait of Hormuz crisis and that good news could emerge soon. He said the effort is being carried out in cooperation with Gulf countries and that freedom of navigation and maritime transport in the region must be safeguarded. Rubio said attacks on commercial ships are unlawful and stressed that no country should use sea lanes or airspace for its own advantage. He also said preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons remains the top objective. Separately, Washington is said to be open to a 60-day negotiation on lifting Iran sanctions and unfreezing frozen Iranian assets. The talks would form part of the broader effort to ease tensions tied to the Hormuz dispute.