Secretary of State Marco Rubio abruptly ended stalled negotiations with Iran and ordered the Iranian delegation to leave the United States, a sharp diplomatic rebuke that came after weekend talks involving Qatari mediators produced no breakthrough more than seven months into the conflict.
Rubio told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his team on Monday that they needed to leave New York, concluding the Iranians had «overstayed their welcome» once high-level United Nations meetings had ended. A U.S. official confirmed the order after it was first reported by Axios. Araghchi and his delegation departed early Tuesday.
The expulsion marked an unusually public rupture at a moment when mediators are still trying to keep negotiations alive. Iran disputed the American account, saying the delegation's Monday night departure had already been scheduled and communicated to the State Department on Sept. 17.
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, directly warned that further military action remains on the table. Asked in an interview with TIME whether he would «ramp up bombing after the midterms,» Trump replied: «Possible.» Pressed on whether such an escalation was under consideration, the president declined to discuss potential targets but said the U.S. had spent months rebuilding its arsenal. «We have a lot of weapons. You know, we've been stocking up for the last six months,» Trump said. He used the same word — «possible» — when asked whether he «might annihilate Iran.»
The latest messaging from the White House and State Department signals an increasingly strained diplomatic track. Days of negotiations failed to close the gap between Washington and Tehran over the terms of ending the war, with the two sides still divided largely over the sequencing of concessions — including when Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, what nuclear steps Tehran would take and what economic relief the U.S. would provide in return.
Talks have centered on a seven-day confidence-building proposal aimed at reopening the strait and reviving the June framework that briefly halted the fighting. Qatar has been shuttling messages between Washington and Tehran. Trump rejected Iran's latest proposal over the weekend, later saying Tehran's offer to reopen the strait was «not good enough. Nearly.» He also denied reports that he had offered sanctions relief or the release of frozen Iranian funds in exchange for movement on the nuclear issue.
In his speech to the U.N. General Assembly last week, Trump said he would continue to make sure Iran is not able to obtain nuclear weapons.
Despite the diplomatic stalemate, oil flows through the region have been recovering. Estimates cited by major banks put recent Middle East exports close to pre-war levels, helping ease some of the supply fears that sent crude prices sharply higher earlier in the conflict. But the lack of a deal is still putting pressure on energy markets. Brent crude settled above $103 a barrel Wednesday, while U.S. crude closed above $90, with oil posting steep September gains as traders weighed stalled U.S.-Iran talks against the recovery in regional supply.
Americans are still feeling that pressure at the pump. The national average for regular gasoline was about $4.43 a gallon Wednesday, compared with roughly $3.15 a year earlier, while diesel stood above $6.40 a gallon.
The Strait of Hormuz remains central to both the negotiations and the economic stakes. Before the war, roughly one-fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passed through the waterway, making even partial disruption a major driver of global energy prices.