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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday hinted at a possible breakthrough in ongoing talks involving Iran, saying “significant progress” had been achieved and suggesting that more developments could emerge within hours.

Speaking during his India visit, Rubio said he would leave any formal announcement to US President Donald Trump, but acknowledged that negotiations had moved forward in recent days.

“On the Iran situation, there'll be, I believe, maybe more news coming out a little bit later today on this topic, and I'll leave it to the President to make further announcements on it,” Rubio said.

He further stated, “Suffice it to say that some progress has been made, significant progress, although not final progress has been made.”

‘Iran Can Never Possess A Nuclear Weapon’

Reiterating Washington’s long-standing position on Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, Rubio stressed that the central objective of the ongoing diplomatic efforts remained preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

“I remind everybody that the ultimate goal is that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon,” he said.

Rubio’s remarks come amid renewed global focus on the Iran nuclear issue and growing tensions in the Gulf region over maritime security and regional stability.

Strait Of Hormuz Mentioned During Remarks

The US Secretary of State also referred to the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically important shipping lanes, and criticised threats aimed at commercial vessels operating in the region.

“The Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway, and what they are doing now is basically they are threatening to destroy commercial vessels using an international waterway that is illegal under any concept of international law,” Rubio stated.

He further revealed that discussions involving Gulf partners over the last 48 hours had led to progress on a possible framework aimed at ensuring uninterrupted movement through the corridor.

“Some progress over the last 48 hours working with our partners in the Gulf region on an outline that could ultimately, if it succeeds, leave us not just with a completely open Strait of Hormuz, and I mean open Strait without tolls...” he said.

Rubio's 4-Day India Visit

Rubio is currently on a four-day visit to India focused on strengthening strategic ties between New Delhi and Washington.

Earlier on Sunday, he held delegation-level talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in New Delhi, where the two sides discussed cooperation in defence, trade, emerging technologies, energy and Indo-Pacific security.

During the discussions, Rubio described India as one of the United States’ “most important strategic partners in the world.”

On Saturday, Rubio also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi shortly after arriving in the national capital following his Kolkata visit.

During his Kolkata stop, Rubio visited the Mother House and interacted with officials of the Missionaries of Charity.