Rubio: U.S. "will not support any deal that creates a pathway for Iran to ever have a nuclear weapon"; new Qatar-Pakistan mediation proposal up to the president

MUMBAI, INDIA

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to reporters at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai, India, on the 21st (local time), said the United States welcomes mediation efforts when asked about reports that Qatar and Pakistan had put a new negotiating proposal to Iran. However, Rubio said "in the end, any decision on what would be acceptable is ... in the hands of the President of the United States," and that "the United States will not support any deal that creates a pathway for Iran to ever have a nuclear weapon." He added that President Trump has made this clear. The State Department posted a transcript of the news conference on its website.

Rubio says he welcomes mediation efforts in response to reports of new Qatar-Pakistan proposal

The question arose from Qatari media reports. A reporter said there had been reports in Qatari media that Qatar and Pakistan had made a new proposal to Iran to bring the United States and Iran back to the negotiating table, and asked whether the reports were accurate. Rubio neither confirmed nor denied the reports. He replied, "I think there's a number of countries that have been engaging over a period of time with Iran, floating proposals."

Rubio referred to the countries involved in mediation as partners of the United States. Of Qatar, he said it had been "involved on this topic for a very long time."

He also directly mentioned Pakistan's moves. Rubio said, "I understand that Field Marshal Munir was actually in Tehran yesterday." Field Marshal Asim Munir is Pakistan's Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff. Going by Rubio's remarks, Munir was in Tehran on the 20th, the day before the news conference. Whom he met in Tehran and what proposal he conveyed did not come up at the news conference. In the transcript, this was the only question and answer dealing with Iran.

Rubio says Trump will decide what is acceptable, draws line at nuclear weapons pathway

Rubio separated his welcome of mediation from the question of who holds decision-making power. He said, "in the end, any decision on what would be acceptable is ... in the hands of the President of the United States."

He also narrowed the yardstick to a single criterion. Rubio said "the United States will not support any deal that creates a pathway for Iran to ever have a nuclear weapon." He said Trump has made this clear.

The term Rubio used as his criterion was not possession of a nuclear weapon but a "pathway" to one. How the Qatar-Pakistan proposal deals with uranium enrichment or nuclear facilities did not come up at the news conference.

Two weeks earlier in Athens, Rubio answered enrichment question with "end of story"

The enrichment issue also came up at a news conference in Athens earlier this month. On the 7th, Rubio held a joint news conference with Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis at the Greek foreign ministry in Athens. A reporter noted that the vice president had said the day before that Iran must do something meaningful about its nuclear enrichment capability, and asked whether that meant the United States could now accept an Iranian enrichment capability greater than zero.

Rubio replied that he did not think that was what the vice president meant. He said, "Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, simple, period, and end of story."

Rubio did not say under what conditions a deal could be acceptable. He said, "They will never have a nuclear weapon, period, not as long as President Trump is in office."

Beyond nuclear weapons, Rubio also took issue with Iran's conventional military power. He said Iran had sought to build up conventional forces so large that no one could attack it. He said U.S. strikes had weakened Iran's drone, missile, naval and air force capabilities. He also brought up the history of negotiations. Rubio said Iran had failed to reach agreements in the past as well.

White House set preventing a nuclear weapon as goal from first day of 'Epic Fury' operation in March

The United States set eliminating the nuclear threat as its goal when it launched military operations against Iran in March this year. Announcing the launch of Operation Epic Fury on March 1, the White House said the purpose of the operation was "to eliminate the imminent nuclear threat posed by the Iranian regime." The White House explained that the operation was carried out "in partnership with regional allies."

On April 1, the White House summarized the operation's objectives as four: eliminating Iran's ballistic missile forces and production capacity, annihilating its navy, cutting off support for terrorist proxies, and ensuring that the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism never obtains a nuclear weapon. Trump said on March 2 that the United States was ensuring that the world's No. 1 state sponsor of terrorism never obtains a nuclear weapon. Rubio also said on March 3, "Iran can never have a nuclear weapon." In the same document, the White House compiled, by date, remarks on the operation's objectives made from March 2 to 31 by nine people, including Trump, the vice president, the secretary of state, the secretary of war and the press secretary.

Pakistan has led U.S.-Iran mediation since April ceasefire

The fighting stopped with an April ceasefire. In a statement on April 8, the Qatari foreign ministry welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, calling it a first step toward de-escalation. The statement urged that further steps be built quickly on the basis of the ceasefire and expressed appreciation for Pakistan's efforts. The statement directly named Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Asim Munir, Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff.

The same statement held Iran responsible. The Qatari foreign ministry stressed that Iran must immediately stop all hostile acts and practices that undermine regional stability and respect the sovereignty of states. The reason given was that such violations must not be repeated. In the same statement, Qatar added that the safety of sea lanes and freedom of navigation must be protected, linking this to international law, regional stability and global supply chains.

The mediation arrangement continued after that. Majed Al Ansari, adviser to Qatar's prime minister and foreign ministry spokesperson, said at a regular briefing on June 16 that Qatar had taken part in supporting the Pakistan-led mediation track. He said "there is no separate Qatari mediation in this file," explaining that Qatar's role is mainly focused on supporting Pakistan's efforts. Al Ansari said contacts with regional countries, including Qatar, continued after the Islamabad talks.

June memorandum of understanding covered halt to military operations and Hormuz navigation

The United States and Iran concluded a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in June. In a statement on June 18, the Qatari foreign ministry welcomed the electronic signing by the United States and Iran of a memorandum of understanding addressing outstanding issues between the two countries. The Qatari foreign ministry said the memorandum included a halt to military operations and a guarantee of freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. Qatar called the memorandum a foundation for the next stage of U.S.-Iran negotiations. Qatar expressed appreciation to Pakistan and other parties that worked to reduce tensions and narrow differences.