DOHA, March 30. /TASS/. The United States and Iran are exchanging messages and maintaining communication through intermediaries, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with Qatar's Al Jazeera TV channel.
"There are direct messages and talks taking place between parties inside Iran and the United States, primarily through intermediaries," Rubio said. According to him, US President Donald Trump favors diplomacy "and always prefers to reach a result."
Rubio also stressed that Washington welcomes a scenario in which "Iran is led by people with a different vision for the future." "If such an opportunity arises we will seize it," the US secretary of state added.
"The Iranian regime wants to possess nuclear weapons to threaten and blackmail the world, but we will never allow that to happen. The danger it poses is far too great," Rubio noted. Speaking about the situation around the Strait of Hormuz, he reiterated that recognizing Iran’s sovereignty over these waters is completely unacceptable to the United States and the international community, as it would set a dangerous precedent by allowing countries to seize control of international sea lanes.
The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. The White House justified the attack by citing alleged missile and nuclear threats from Iran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation, targeting sites in Israel. US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were also hit. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and some other key Iranian leaders were killed in the joint US-Israeli attack.
Iranian authorities also decided to close the Strait of Hormuz to vessels associated with the US, Israel, and countries that supported the aggression against the Islamic Republic. On March 25, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that Iran had allowed passage through the Strait of Hormuz to friendly countries, including Russia, India, Iraq, China, and Pakistan.