Rubio says enriched uranium central to Iran nuclear deal talks, no agreement yet

The fate of Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpile is at the center of ongoing peace talks, and Tehran has not yet agreed to a deal, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday. Rubio made the remarks before the House Foreign Affairs Committee as Iran launched a deadly attack on Kuwait's international airport.

Did Iran agree to give up its enriched uranium?

Iran has not yet given final sign-off on the uranium question. Rubio told the committee that the issue had been clearly addressed in papers exchanged between the two sides, but that Washington had not received a definitive answer from Tehran as of Wednesday morning. The U.S. insists Iran must surrender its near-weapons-grade enriched uranium as a condition of any peace agreement.

What does the U.S. demand for an Iran nuclear deal?

Washington has set out three core conditions for any agreement to take hold. Iran must turn over its near-weapons-grade enriched uranium, agree to curb its nuclear activities, and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. Iran has said it requires the release of $12 billion in frozen assets before engaging in substantive nuclear talks.

Tehran also dismissed earlier comments by President Donald Trump suggesting its enriched uranium stockpile would ultimately be destroyed. Rubio told the committee that Iran was now negotiating over aspects of its nuclear program it had refused to discuss even a month ago, describing that shift as progress.

Did Rubio say the Iran war is over?

Rubio told the committee that the U.S. military operation known as Epic Fury had concluded, and that the United States had achieved its objectives. He defined victory as destroying Iran's defense industrial base, significantly reducing its missile launchers and drone stockpile, dismantling what remained of its air force, and eliminating its conventional navy. "All Iranian attacks on American forces failed," he said.

Rubio made those assertions even as Iran attacked Kuwait International Airport on Wednesday, killing one person and wounding 63 others in a significant escalation. The attack came after U.S. strikes on Iranian targets in the region, which Iran said were launched from Kuwaiti and Bahraini territory.

How did the Iran war start and what has it done to the Middle East?

The conflict began on February 28 when the United States and Israel struck Iran and killed senior members of its leadership. Iran responded by targeting U.S. allies across the region and effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, the vital oil shipping lane. The war has since engulfed the broader Middle East, with Iran launching thousands of missiles and drones at Gulf states.