‘There is chance Iran will accept a deal to end war as soon as today,’ says Marco Rubio

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that there is a chance that Iran will accept a deal to end the Middle East war as soon as Saturday. “There is a chance that, whether it’s later today, tomorrow, in a couple days, we may have something to say,” Rubio told reporters, adding that he hoped for “good news.”

The US Secretary of State said, “The question is about the Iranian issue, and as I said, there’s been some progress done, some progress made even as I speak to you now, there’s some work being done. There is a chance that whether it’s later today, tomorrow, in a couple days, we may have something to say, but this issue needs to be solved as the president said, one way or the other, Iran can never have a nuclear weapon; the straits need to be open without tolls...”

“They need to turn over their highly enriched uranium. If we need to address that issue, we need to address the issue of enrichment. These are the president's points consistently. His preference is always to deal with it in a diplomatic way. The president's preference is always to solve problems such as these through a negotiated diplomatic solution. That’s what we’re working on right now... We hope it’s done through the diplomatic route. That’s what we’re working on,” Rubio added.

‘In final stage of drafting framework for deal with US,’ says Iran

Iran also said that it is in the ‘final stage’ of drafting a framework for a deal with the US, reported state TV.

Meanwhile, an Iranian official told Al Jazeera that Iran has reached an MoU with the Pakistani mediator and is now awaiting the American response.

According to Iranian State TV, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said that they are “very far and yet very close” to making a deal.

Baqaei said 30- and 60-day time periods are included in the text of the memorandum of understanding.

‘India-US ties cornerstone of Indo-Pacific approach’

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hailed the relations between New Delhi and Washington. Referring to his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rubio said, “We had a very productive meeting today...India is at the cornerstone of how the United States approaches the Indo-Pacific, and not just through the Quad, but bilaterally. You see that in the $20 billion that Indian companies invested in the United States. You see it in their signing up for Pax Silica and the other opportunities we have to explore between two advanced economies.”

“To be here to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, our 250th birthday, the world’s oldest democracy, the United States, and the world’s largest democracy here in India are natural partners now and in the future. It’s a great relationship already. We do so much together, and there’s so much more to do. I hope that this visit continues to add to those areas in which we work together in a variety of forms and a variety of sectors and areas,” Rubio added.