Marco Rubio said the United States was expecting Iran’s response on May 9, 2026, to proposals for an interim deal in the strait of hormuz negotiations. He said in Rome that he hoped Iran would make “a serious offer” and put the two sides into “a serious process of negotiation.”
Those talks are moving while recent days brought the biggest flare-ups in and around the Strait of Hormuz since the informal truce began last month. Pakistan passed a brief memorandum to Iran that the United States said could form the basis for a sturdier ceasefire and new talks.
Rubio presses for a serious offer
Rubio, the US secretary of state, said, “We’re expecting a response from them today at some point … I hope it’s a serious offer, I really do … The hope is it’s something that can put us into a serious process of negotiation.” He made those remarks during a visit to Rome, tying the immediate diplomatic question to a deadline that lands on May 9, 2026.
The statement gives Washington’s current position plainly: the United States is waiting for Iran’s answer to its interim proposal, not for a new public opening statement. Rubio framed that response as the step that could move the conflict from stoppages and pauses back into talks with a defined agenda.
Strait of Hormuz flare-ups
Recent days saw the biggest flare-ups in and around the Strait of Hormuz since the informal truce began last month. The rise in violence followed Donald Trump’s announcement and rapid pause of a new naval mission aimed at opening the strategic waterway.
That sequence matters because the diplomatic track is running alongside a fresh burst of military pressure around one of the most contested shipping routes in the region. Pakistan’s role as mediator adds a third channel: a brief memorandum passed to Iran, which the United States said could serve as a basis for a more solid ceasefire and allow new talks.
Araghchi and Trump
Abbas Araghchi accused the United States of breaking the ceasefire on Friday. On X, Iran’s foreign minister wrote, “Every time a diplomatic solution is on the table, the US opts for a reckless military adventure.” He also said Iran’s ballistic missile stocks and launcher capacity had been repaired and restocked during the pause in hostilities and expanded.
Trump said at the White House on Friday evening, “I’m getting a letter supposedly tonight,” and expected a response from Iran soon. That remark came just before Rubio’s comments in Rome, setting up a short window in which Washington is waiting to see whether Iran answers through the mediation channel or through public statements.
Trump is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday for a summit with Xi Jinping, his first visit to China in nine years. For now, the immediate test remains whether Iran sends a serious reply on May 9, 2026, after the memorandum routed through Pakistan.
