US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Tuesday that Iran has signaled a willingness to negotiate elements of its nuclear program that weren’t previously on the table, as US President Donald Trump denied talks had been cut off.

“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,” Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, without elaborating.

He added that it’s “not a guarantee that ultimately it will lead to a deal that’s acceptable” and that these negotiations have been made difficult by the instability of Iran’s leadership.

But, he said, “There is the prospect before us, which could happen today, it could happen tomorrow, it could happen next week.”

Rubio also insisted that any sanctions relief would depend on Iran making concessions on its nuclear program.

“Right now, everything that’s been discussed with them is that … any sanctions relief is condition-based, which means it has to be in return for the reason why those sanctions were put in place in the first place, which is their nuclear program,” he told lawmakers.

He also said that Tehran must agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping channel for Gulf oil and gas.

“They have to announce very clearly ‘The straits are now open, we’re not charging a toll.’ We will help remove the mines that they put in there, and they will not fire on ships,” he said.

“The more they give, the more they would get,” he said of relief, later adding, “They’re not going to get it as a signing........

© The Times of Israel