Rubio Says US Still Open to Iran Talks as Conflict Widens

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in Manila on Wednesday that Washington remained willing to negotiate an end to the conflict with Iran, but accused Tehran of showing no serious interest in diplomacy.

Rubio said the United States would protect its interests and those of its allies, while warning that Iran could not be allowed to control the Strait of Hormuz.

“If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll, and if you don’t pay them blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent, which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region”, he said.

Meanwhile, the conflict has spread to another key energy route after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea. Two tankers carrying Saudi crude to Asia reversed course, while Brent crude rose above $91 a barrel.

With no diplomatic breakthrough in sight, the US military bombed targets across Iran for an 11th consecutive night. Explosions were reported in Tehran, Chabahar, Konarak and Bushehr, home to Iran’s only nuclear power plant, as air defenses were activated over the capital.

Iran has also targeted US military sites in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, while President Donald Trump said four American service members had been killed in recent attacks on bases in Jordan and Iraq.

(Reuters, Max)