{"id":4370,"date":"2026-05-21T19:02:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T19:02:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=4370"},"modified":"2026-05-21T19:02:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T19:02:36","slug":"rubio-hopeful-pakistan-led-mediation-can-ease-iran-tensions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=4370","title":{"rendered":"Rubio hopeful Pakistan-led mediation can ease Iran tensions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that any diplomatic agreement between the United States and Iran would become unfeasible if Tehran moved forward with plans to implement a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking to reporters, Rubio strongly criticised the proposed system, saying it lacked international support and would violate international law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo one in the world is in favor of the tolling system. It can\u2019t happen. It would be unacceptable. It would make a diplomatic deal unfeasible if they were to continue to pursue that. So it\u2019s a threat to the world if they were trying to do that, and it\u2019s completely illegal,\u201d Rubio said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also revealed that there had been some progress in ongoing talks with Tehran aimed at ending the US-Israeli war involving Iran, although he cautioned that Washington was dealing with what he described as a fragmented system inside Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019s some good signs, I don\u2019t want to be overly optimistic &#8230; So, let\u2019s see what happens over the next few days,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rubio further expressed hope that a visit by Pakistan\u2019s army chief to Tehran would help advance diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI believe the Pakistanis will be traveling to Tehran today. So hopefully that\u2019ll advance this further,\u201d Rubio told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Also on Thursday, Rubio renewed criticism of NATO for what he described as insufficient support for the US campaign involving Iran, as he departed for alliance talks in Sweden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said President Donald Trump was not demanding direct military intervention from NATO allies but was disappointed by their unwillingness to provide broader support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPresident Donald Trump is not asking them to send their fighter jets in. But they refuse to do anything,\u201d Rubio said. \u201cWe were very upset about that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that any diplomatic agreement between the United States and Iran would become unfeasible if Tehran moved forward with plans to&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4371,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1146,165,254,1423],"class_list":["post-4370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-marco-rubio","tag-middle-east-tensions","tag-united-states","tag-war-against-iran"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Rubio hopeful Pakistan-led mediation can ease Iran tensions - World Watch Alert<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran\u2019s proposed Hormuz tolling system would make any diplomatic deal impossible, while expressing hope that Pakistan\u2019s mediation efforts in Tehran could help ease tensions.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=4370\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rubio hopeful Pakistan-led mediation can ease Iran tensions - 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