US-Iran nuclear talks continue as Rubio says Khamenei appears more active

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Iran is now prepared to discuss parts of its nuclear programme that were previously off limits, as negotiations between Washington and Tehran continue after an April 8 truce. Speaking to US lawmakers on Tuesday, Rubio also said Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei appears to be taking a more active role in the country's affairs. He said the latest US proposal is still being reviewed in Tehran, while contact between the two sides has reportedly been limited in recent days.

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Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that there are signs Khamenei is increasingly engaged, although he said communications have been carried out in writing and through intermediaries. He added that the Iranian leader has not been seen publicly since US air strikes killed his father and predecessor on the first day of the war. According to a source close to Iran's negotiating team, Tehran is still studying the latest proposal and has not communicated with the US in several days.

That source said Iran was taking a stern approach because of what it sees as US non-compliance with the ceasefire and wider mistrust. The remarks come as the two sides continue to test whether a broader deal is possible after months of conflict and fragile diplomacy. Rubio said the talks may now include aspects of Iran's nuclear programme that Tehran was unwilling to discuss as recently as a month ago.

He cautioned, however, that this does not guarantee an agreement, and said a deal could still fail to emerge. The US side has also linked the talks to wider conditions, including a commitment from Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The negotiations matter because they sit at the centre of a wider regional and security dispute.

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Any agreement would affect not only Iran's nuclear programme but also the terms of the ceasefire and the future of maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a route that carried about 20 percent of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supplies before the war. The talks therefore have implications for energy markets, regional stability and the risk of renewed military escalation. They also reflect the continuing effort to turn a truce into a more durable political settlement.

Trump has said his priorities for any deal include Iran agreeing never to develop nuclear weapons and reopening the strait. In social media posts on Monday, he said talks with Iran were progressing at a rapid pace and that it would all work out well in the end. Rubio said the first condition in the talks was that Iran opened the Strait of Hormuz, and that Tehran also had to commit to negotiations.

His comments suggest the US is trying to tie nuclear limits to broader strategic concessions. What remains unclear is how far Tehran is willing to go, and whether the latest US proposal can bridge the gap between the two sides. It is also not clear how much influence Mojtaba Khamenei is now exercising, or whether his reported involvement will speed up or slow down the process.

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