U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building June 2, 2026 in Washington, DC.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that the United States was in talks with Iran and that Tehran has agreed to negotiate certain parts of its nuclear program he had previously refused to discuss, as lawmakers pressed the Trump administration for a strategy aimed at end the war.
“Talks with Iran are not like talks with Switzerland,” Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “They require the use of intermediaries.”
Rubio said there was a chance “today,” “tomorrow” or “next week” that Iran could engage on the issue. nuclear issues that she had refused to discuss it “barely a month ago, barely a year ago”.
That doesn’t guarantee a deal “acceptable to the Senate or to the American people,” Rubio said, but it would allow the United States to “truly test” how far Iran is willing to go.
President Donald Trump also pushed back Tuesday against reports that the talks had broken down, saying in an article on Social truth that “conversations between us have continued continually,” including over the past few days and “today.”
“Where they lead, you never know,” Trump wroteadding that he told Iran: “It’s time, one way or another, for you to make a deal.”
These comments constitute a striking change in tone from the administration’s position. day earlierwhen Trump told CNBC that he I didn’t care if the talks with Iran were over.
Rubio, who is also president that of Donald Trump national security adviser, appeared before the committee for his first public testimony on Iran was from the United States and Israeli strikes started on February 28.
He defended Trump’s decision to start the warclaiming that Iran had attempted to build a “conventional shield” against missilesdrones and naval assets around its nuclear program.
“If you come and do something for our nuclear programwe will overwhelm you with missiles, we will overwhelm you with drones and we will overwhelm you with our navy,” Rubio said, describing Iran’s posture.
Rubio said Iran was seeking a “point of immunity” that Trump had tried to deny.
He said Operation Epic Fury had been “very successful”, significantly reducing Iran’s ability to build missiles and drones, while recognizing that Tehran “still [has] a lot of drones” because they are “easy to make”.
Rubio said the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz remains essential to any de-escalation.
“They need to announce that they will no longer shoot at commercial ships that pass through or threaten to shoot at ships,” Rubio said.
He said Iran must declare open straitstop charging a toll, help with mine clearance, and pledge not to shoot at commercial ships.
The hearing comes as Congress is increasingly worried about the war, its economic fallout and Trump’s power to continue the conflict without permission from lawmakers.
The senator Jeanne ShaheenDN.H., the top of the committee Democrataccused the administration of avoiding congressional oversight.
“When I talk to my constituents, they are asking for economic aid at home, not regime change in Havana, Caracas or Tehran,” Shaheen said.
She said the the war powers of the administration the notification was “not a consultation” but “an attempt to avoid responding to this committee and this Congress regarding this war.”
The hearing — on the State Department’s budget — also extended beyond Iran, with Democrats pressing Rubio on whether the administration was considering regime change in multiple countries.
Rubio is scheduled to appear before several House and Senate panels this week as lawmakers press him on Iran, Venezuela, Cuba and the administration’s broader foreign policy.