Defense & National Security Newsletter

Stalemate on a deal with Iran

by Ellen Mitchell - 04/28/26 7:13 PM ET

Link copied

by Ellen Mitchell - 04/28/26 7:13 PM ET

Link copied

Secretary of State Marco Rubio smiles during a meeting at the State Department in Washington, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

- Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & NatSec newsletter

{beacon}

Defense &

National Security

Defense &

National Security

The Big Story

Stalemate on a deal with Iran

The Trump administration continues to pour cold water on a reported proposal by Iran that would end the two-month conflict with the U.S. and Israel and reopen the Strait of Hormuz but postpone discussions on its nuclear program.

Tehran offered to loosen its grip on the strait in exchange for the U.S. ending its naval blockade, two regional officials told The Associated Press, with talks about the country’s nuclear program deferred to a later date.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to dismiss any deal that did not include concessions from the Iranian regime on its nuclear capabilities, arguing in an interview Monday that the “nuclear question is the reason why we’re in this in the first place.”

“There’s no doubt in my mind that at some point in the future, if this radical clerical regime remain in charge in Iran, they will decide they want a nuclear weapon,” he told Fox News’s Trey Yingst. “That fundamental issue still has to be confronted. That still remains the core issue here.”

President Trump also signaled unhappiness with Tehran’s initial proposal over the weekend. He told reporters, after he canceled a U.S. delegation’s trip to Pakistan for what was supposed to be another round of indirect talks to end hostilities, that the Iranians “gave us a paper that should have been better.”

“And interesting, immediately, when I canceled it, within 10 minutes, we got a new paper that was much better,” Trump said, according to Bloomberg.

The Trump administration justified the launch of initial strikes in late February by insisting that Iran was close to obtaining a nuclear weapon and posed an imminent threat to national security, claims officials in the Islamic Republic have defiantly rejected.

“We can’t let them get away with it,” Rubio said Monday. “They’re very good negotiators. They’re very experienced negotiators, and we have to ensure that any deal that is made, any agreement that is made, is one that definitely prevents them from sprinting towards a nuclear weapon at any point.”

The Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint, has also remained at the epicenter of tensions since Iran effectively halted shipping traffic at the outset of the conflict. The disruption has choked off global oil supply, injecting instability into the market and repeatedly pushing crude oil prices above $100 per barrel.

Trump has demanded that safe passage for vessels attempting to transit the waterway be restored as one of the U.S. conditions for peace — a “red line” Rubio emphasized Monday, while also criticizing Iran for charging tolls on commercial vessels.

Read the full report at thehill.com

Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I’m Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.

Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

Essential Reads

How policy will affect defense and national security now and in

the future:

 Heat rises on Hegseth ahead of back-to-back hearings

Republican lawmakers will get their chance to air out frustrations with the Trump administration’s handling of the Iran war and a string of high-profile Pentagon firings when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth makes back-to-back public appearances on Capitol Hill this week. Hegseth will go before the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday — his first testimony under oath since the conflict with Tehran began — then in front …

Full Story

 Russian superyacht sails through blockaded Strait of Hormuz

A Russian-flagged superyacht sailed through the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, one of only a few private vessels to pass through the blockaded waterway since the start of the U.S. conflict with Iran, according to maritime traffic data. Data from the MarineTraffic platform showed that the nearly 142-meter-long Nord left a Dubai port on Friday, sailed through the strait and arrived at a port in Muscat, Oman, on Sunday morning …

Full Story

 Pentagon asks Congress to codify ‘Department of War’ with $52 million price tag

The Pentagon has asked Congress to codify its “Department of War” renaming, saying it will cost nearly $52 million to complete