Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in the United Arab Emirates as Gulf leaders question whether a U.S.-Iran framework will fully address regional hostilities, proxy attacks, missile threats and free passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in the United Arab Emirates late Tuesday as the Trump administration moved to reassure Gulf Arab allies uneasy about a tentative agreement with Iran aimed at ending regional hostilities.
Rubio’s stop in Abu Dhabi marks the first leg of a three-country Gulf tour that will also take him to Kuwait and Bahrain. All three countries were targeted by Iranian missiles and drones in retaliation for U.S.-Israeli airstrikes during the recent war.
The visit follows two days of U.S.-Iran diplomacy in Switzerland led by Vice President JD Vance. Those talks produced what Vance described as a significant framework to end hostilities across the region, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and provide sanctions relief while leaving negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program to be concluded within 60 days.
Rubio told reporters upon arrival that he planned to explain the benefits of the agreement to Gulf leaders who remain skeptical about its terms and enforcement.
A central concern among Gulf governments is whether the arrangement will meaningfully restrain Iran beyond immediate hostilities. Some regional leaders have recently taken a harder public line toward Tehran than the Trump administration, particularly after Iranian attacks hit Gulf countries during the conflict.
Rubio said a proposed $300 billion investment fund for Iran would not move forward unless Tehran changes course.
The fund would not become reality unless “its leadership makes a decision that they want to be a country instead of a revolutionary movement that exports terror,” Rubio said.
Gulf officials have also raised concerns that the agreement does not directly resolve Iran’s missile program, its support for proxy groups or the nuclear issue, which is being pushed into future negotiations.
Rubio argued that those issues are effectively included in the memorandum of understanding because the document calls for a “complete end of hostilities and conflicts in the region.”
“You can’t have the end of hostilities and conflicts in a region as long as Iranian proxies are launching missiles and drones from Iraq, and are participating in terrorism, like Hamas did, and like Hezbollah did,” Rubio said. “So, I do think it’s covered by the MOU, and it is an issue that will be gotten to at the appropriate time in these negotiations.”
The UAE has been especially vocal in calling for firm action to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. The waterway is one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes, and its status has become a major point of contention in the U.S.-Iran framework.
The United States has insisted that the strait must remain open to international shipping without fees or restrictions. Iran, however, has been moving forward with a plan that could impose service fees for passage, which critics say would amount to a toll.
Rubio said Washington would reject any attempt to charge vessels for using the waterway.
“It’s an international waterway,” Rubio said. “No country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway. That’s existing international law. That’s the way it is.”
Rubio said he did not expect Gulf governments to need persuasion on that point.
“I don’t think we have anybody to convince around here in that regard. I think all the countries in this region would agree with us,” he said.
The Gulf tour is intended to show that the administration is consulting regional partners as negotiations with Iran move into the next phase. The talks are expected to address sanctions relief, regional security, Iran’s nuclear program and the terms for ending hostilities involving Iranian-backed groups.
Rubio’s meetings will test whether Gulf allies believe the tentative framework can curb Iran’s regional activity while preserving freedom of navigation through Hormuz and preventing renewed escalation after weeks of war.