Iran’s supreme leader appears more active as talks continue: US’s Rubio

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei appears to be taking a more active role as negotiations between the two countries continue following an April 8 truce.

Testifying before the US’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, Rubio said there are signs that Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen publicly since US air strikes killed his father and predecessor on the first day of the war, is alive and more deeply engaged in the country’s affairs.

“I think there are indications out there that he is increasingly engaging at some level, although all of his communications have been in writing and through intermediaries,” said the US’s top diplomat.

Rubio’s remarks come as Tehran is reviewing the latest version of a US proposal aimed at ending the war, which US President Donald Trump reportedly tightened the terms of in recent days.

Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency cited a source close to the country’s negotiating team as saying Tehran is still studying the latest proposal and has not communicated with the US in several days. The official stressed Iran was taking a “stern” approach given what it sees as US non-compliance with the ceasefire and general mistrust.

Trump has said his priorities for any deal include Iran agreeing to never develop nuclear weapons and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies transited before the war. In a series of social media posts on Monday, Trump said that talks with Iran were progressing at a “rapid pace” and that “it will all work out well in the end”.

Addressing lawmakers, Rubio said the US talks with Iran may now include “aspects of their nuclear programme” the country was unwilling to discuss as recently as a month ago.

However, “that is not a guarantee it will ultimately lead to a deal that’s acceptable,” Rubio cautioned.