Rubio Cites Measured Progress in U.S.-Iran Talks as Pakistan and Qatar Converge on Tehran

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on May 22 that U.S.-Iran negotiations had produced incremental movement, while stopping well short of declaring a deal within reach. "There's been some progress. I wouldn't exaggerate it. I wouldn't diminish it," Rubio said at the NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden. He added that more work remains and stated plainly, "We're not there yet. I hope we get there." The comments came against a backdrop of escalating diplomatic activity in Tehran, where multiple mediation delegations arrived on the same day, and persistent skepticism on Capitol Hill about the value of any agreement.

The current negotiating round takes place under a ceasefire that has held only tenuously since mid-April. A shaky ceasefire is in place following U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, but there has been no major breakthrough, with a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and Tehran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz complicating negotiations. The U.S. is blockading Iranian ports and has redirected 94 commercial vessels and disabled four others since mid-April, according to U.S. Central Command. Rubio spoke days after President Donald Trump said he was holding off on a military strike against Iran because "serious negotiations" were underway, though Trump has threatened for weeks that the ceasefire could end if Iran does not make a deal, with shifting parameters for what such an agreement would require. The primary U.S. demands on the table are the permanent prohibition of an Iranian nuclear weapon and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has offered some nuclear concessions, but Trump has insisted on the removal of highly enriched uranium from the country and a permanent bar on weapons development.

Pakistan's Field Marshal Asim Munir arrived in Tehran on May 22 to lead the latest push toward an agreement. Munir traveled to Tehran as part of an effort to reach a deal under which the U.S. and Iran would agree to end the war and launch negotiations toward a broader agreement, according to a Pakistani security source. Munir was received by Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni upon arrival, according to the Pakistani military. Munir was accompanied by Pakistan's interior minister, who had already met with Iranian leaders in Tehran twice earlier in the week, and Pakistan has been pursuing a deal since Munir facilitated direct talks between U.S. and Iranian representatives in Islamabad last month. The mediators are working to finalize a letter of intent that includes an agreement to end the war and principles for an additional 30 days of negotiations on a broader deal that would address Iran's nuclear program. Munir's role has been built on an unusually close personal relationship with the Trump administration. Trump hosted Munir at the White House in June 2025, the first time a U.S. president had received the head of Pakistan's army unaccompanied by the country's civilian political leadership. Pakistan has achieved what many senior diplomats had failed to accomplish for decades: producing direct talks between Washington and Tehran. Rubio confirmed that Pakistan holds primacy in the U.S. channel, telling reporters, "The primary country we've been working with on all of this is Pakistan, and that remains the case."

Qatar also dispatched a negotiating team to Tehran on May 22, marking a notable shift in Doha's posture. A Qatari negotiating team arrived in Tehran in coordination with the United States to try to help secure a deal and resolve outstanding issues, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Doha had until now distanced itself from a mediation role in the Iran conflict after coming under attack from Iranian missiles and drones during the war. Iran struck Qatar with hundreds of missiles and drones, targeting civilian infrastructure and the Ras Laffan LNG production facility, an attack that wiped out roughly 17% of Qatar's LNG export capacity. Qatar characterized its participation as supporting, not supplanting, the Pakistani track. Doha denied operating an alternative mediation channel, with a Qatari source telling i24NEWS that its involvement is solely a "supportive role" to Pakistani mediators and that Qatar had been "actively supporting Pakistan's mediation efforts." The Qatari delegation is working in coordination with other countries, including Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, according to a regional official.

Congressional opposition to a negotiated settlement surfaced on the same day. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, Republican of Mississippi, posted on social media that Trump "is being ill advised to pursue a deal that would not be worth the paper it is written on" and urged the president to "finish what we started," according to POLITICO [POLITICO]. The public rebuke from the Armed Services chair carries institutional weight: the committee holds jurisdiction over defense authorizations and any use-of-force questions that would accompany a resumption of hostilities. A source close to Trump told Axios that the president had grown increasingly frustrated over the past several days and raised the possibility of a final major military operation, after which he could declare victory and end the war. That posture aligns with the harder line Wicker is advocating, and underscores that the administration is not negotiating from a unified internal position.

A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Thursday that no deal had been reached, but that gaps have been narrowed, with Iran's uranium enrichment levels and its control of the Strait of Hormuz among the remaining sticking points. In recent weeks, there have been repeated claims of incremental progress, but a final agreement has remained out of reach, and Trump has repeatedly set deadlines for Tehran and then backed off. Rubio, asked whether a deal was possible at all, said Trump "prefers the negotiated option," but acknowledged the president himself "has expressed concern that maybe that's not possible." He added that there needs to be a "plan B" if Washington and Tehran fail to reach a deal, warning that Iran would not "voluntarily reopen" the strait.