United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. is "involved in" negotiations between Iran and Oman, while reiterating that Iran's denuclearisation remains the administration's long-term objective.
Speaking on Tuesday, Rubio said the broader goal was to ensure Iran could never develop a nuclear weapon.
"There's a big deal, which is the one that has to do with their nuclear ambitions. They can never have a nuclear weapon. So the denuclearisation of Iran is the ultimate deal."
He said the immediate priority centred on securing maritime access through two critical Middle Eastern energy routes.
"I think the immediate deal, the one that there is focus on, is the Straits," he added, referring to the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb, which have faced periodic disruptions during the conflict involving Iran and its Houthi allies.
"The Straits are open," Rubio said, repeating a line often touted by the Trump administration. "Nonetheless, I think that there's a conversation and a negotiation - that we are involved in - between Oman and Iran on how more ships can be able to go through there safely in the short term as we move towards the longer-term talks about denuclearization."
Rubio said negotiations had advanced but remained incomplete.
"Suffice it to say there's been progress made in those talks but not finality yet," he said. "We're hoping that will happen very shortly."
He did not provide further details about the nature of U.S. involvement in the discussions.
Separately, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he believed an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be reached within the next 24 hours.
"We've seen that President Trump last week threatened what would have been one of the largest military campaigns or the largest military campaign since World War Two, against the Iranians. And now because of that, we are in talks with the Iranians," Bessent told CNBC.
"I think there is a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow, in the strait and move towards a more normalized position in this conflict. And that's because their air force is wiped out, their Navy is wiped out, and a substantial portion of their missiles are wiped out. More importantly, their missile production capability is wiped out," Bessent said.
Iran on Monday denied that any direct negotiations with the White House were taking place, maintaining that its only talks were with Oman regarding the future of the Strait of Hormuz.
