Rubio defends US decision to lift Iran sanctions as part of ‘give and take’ negotiating process

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defends the Trump administration’s decision to lift sanctions on Iran earlier this week, insisting that Washington has to make some concessions as part of the negotiation process.

“Anytime you enter into a negotiation, it’s a process of give and take. This is a temporary measure. It’s for 60 days. As a result, we expect them to live up to the commitments they made in Switzerland. If they don’t… the president has a lot of options at his disposal,” Rubio tells reporters in Kuwait.

The US first asserted that any sanctions relief that Iran would enjoy would only commence after Tehran made concessions in the 60 days of talks that kicked off over the weekend following the signing of a memorandum of understanding last week to end the war between the two countries.

But then the US went on to acknowledge that some relief would be up-front, in the form of a waiver on the sanctions against Iranian oil exports.

Then on Monday, the US lifted major sanctions to allow Iran to trade oil in US dollars and delisted blacklisted shipping vessels under a 60-day temporary waiver.

Given the US insistence that sanctions relief would be based on performance, those more sweeping steps apparently came in response to Iran’s decision to allow UN nuclear inspectors back in the country. That was the only concession that the US has said Iran agreed to make in last weekend’s talks, although Tehran denies having done so.

Rubio also confirms that the next round of technical talks between the US and Iran will begin early next week in Switzerland. The secretary says participants will be at levels beneath his post, so he will not be taking part, though more senior meetings have been led by US Vice President JD Vance, not the top US diplomat.