Fox News reports that Iran carried out a naval drill on Tuesday in the Strait of Hormuz, firing live missiles in the process. During the exercise, it was reported that the shipping corridor was closed for several hours. Meanwhile, an IRGCA commander says that Tehran is ready to shut down the strait despite that fact that it is a critical global oil transit route.
At the same time, a U.S. envoy enters a second round of nuclear talks with Iran. Its reported that President Donald Trump said on Monday that he will be involved “indirectly.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated on Sunday that the Trump administration remains interested in negotiating for a diplomatic solution in dealing with Iran. The U.S. diplomat said that the increasing U.S. military buildup in the region is for defensive reasons.
"We are postured in the region for one simple reason, and that is that we understand that there could be threats to our forces in the region,” stated Rubio. “We've seen them be threatened in the past, and we want to make sure that we have sufficient capacity to defend them if — God forbid — that would happen.”
He said that right now, they are talking about negotiations.
“We are focused on negotiations. The president's made that clear. If that changes, it'll be obvious to everyone, and obviously whatever the law requires us to do, we'll do," said Rubio.
During an appearance on Life, Liberty, and Levin on the Fox News Channel, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says that he does not understand why the administration would meet with them because it legitimizes the regime.
“They want to stay in power,” states Gingrich. “I think the only long-term strategy is to encourage the people of Iran to take back their own country to dramatically weaken the regime further and to undermine its capacity for imposing itself.
He thinks that the U.S. can ultimately do that.
“I don't know why we would meet with them, which makes them said look like they're a legitimate government. They're not! They're a dictatorship dedicated to destroying the United States," says Gingrich.
