Rubio says US will only provide sanctions relief to Iran in exchange for nuclear concessions

Rubio says US will only provide sanctions relief to Iran in exchange for nuclear concessions Submitted by MEE staff on Tue, 06/02/2026 - 17:45 US top diplomat rejects Iranian efforts to impose toll in Hormuz and rules out economic relief as part of temporary ceasefire US Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing concerning the fiscal year 2027 budget for the State Department, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on 2 June 2026 (Brendan Smialowski/AFP) Off US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that Iran would only receive sanctions relief if it surrenders its nuclear programme, brushing aside Tehran’s demands to obtain economic relief as part of a phased ceasefire. "Iran is being sanctioned because they've highly enriched uranium. Iran is being sanctioned because of their nuclear activities; if they agree to give up those things, there will be sanctions relief,” Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday. “They have to agree on negotiating severe and long-term limitations and/or cancellation of enrichment activity,” he said. Rubio said that Iran was now negotiating over aspects of its nuclear programme that it had previously not considered, but did not provide any details. Iran said on Friday that “no negotiations" were taking place over its nuclear programme.  Rubio’s comments suggest the US is not close to releasing billions of dollars in frozen funds, which Tehran has requested to seal a ceasefire extension.  Ali Bagheri Kani, the deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, insisted last week that the release of the funds was a “legal right” of the Iranian people. ...

Original source: Middle East Eye