OAN Staff Jenna Lee
9:50 AM – Wednesday, June 3, 2026
Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed cautious optimism regarding nuclear talks with Iran, despite a shaky ceasefire and conflicting claims from Iranian state media.
Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, Rubio stated that the U.S. remains engaged in negotiations with Iran to pause the conflict, though he admitted a successful outcome of the efforts is not certain.
“It is not a guarantee that ultimately it will lead to a deal that’s acceptable to the Senate or acceptable to the American people. But we’ll be able to engage them in a process to truly test the proposition of how far they’re willing to go,” said Rubio to lawmakers.
Rubio’s upbeat tone directly contradicted reports from two semiofficial Iranian news agencies, which pessimistically claimed that Iran ceased communication with mediators after Israel threatened to expand operations in Lebanon. President Donald Trump quickly disputed those reports, labelling them “false and erroneous.”
“The conversations between us have been going on continuously, including four days ago, three days ago, two days ago, one day ago, and today. Where they lead, one never knows, but as I told Iran, ‘It’s time, one way or another, for you to make a Deal. You’ve been doing this for 47 years, and it cannot be allowed to go on any longer!’” wrote Trump on Truth Social on Tuesday.
Rubio further emphasized the unique nature of the current diplomatic efforts to the committee.
“And I say talks because talks with Iran are not like talks with Switzerland, they’re very different. They require the use of intermediators, unfortunately. But there is the prospect before us, which could happen today, it could happen tomorrow, it could happen next week, that for the first time, certainly in my memory, they have agreed to negotiate aspects of their nuclear program that just a month ago, just a year ago, they were refusing to even mention, much less enter into discussions about that,” said Rubio.
The high-stakes hearing took place amid growing unease by some in Congress over the conflict’s economic fallout and questions surrounding the president’s authority to sustain the conflict without explicit legislative authorization.
A fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran has held since early April, putting a pause on extensive military operations. The U.S. has not formally declared war on the Islamic Republic, a move that would require congressional approval.
Recent attacks by Iran on regional neighbors, including strikes on Kuwait that reportedly killed one person and injured dozens of others, called into question the strength of the ceasefire. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), however, gave no indication that the ceasefire was ended, though it acknowledged a flare up of hostilities, including “self-defense” strikes launched by U.S. forces.
The Secretary of State is scheduled to appear before several additional Senate and House panels this week, where lawmakers are expected to grill him on Iran, Venezuela, Cuba and the administration’s foreign policy agenda.
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