June 22, 2026
By The Associated Press
Rubio heads to the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain as efforts intensify to end the war with Iran
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain this week as the Trump administration has stepped up efforts to end the war with Iran while Gulf countries remain uneasy about a proposed deal.
The State Department announced Monday that Rubio would visit the three countries for bilateral meetings with leaders to discuss the memorandum of understanding reached last week between the U.S. and Iran, weekend talks in Switzerland between senior Iranian and U.S. officials as well as security for American allies and partners in the Middle East, including the status of the Strait of Hormuz.
Rubio will discuss “regional priorities,” “efforts to secure full and free safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz, and the importance of peace and stability in the region,” the department said in a statement.
While in Bahrain, Rubio will also meet with Gulf Cooperation Council officials “to discuss shared priorities.”
US Treasury waives sanctions on Iranian oil as part of interim agreement to end war
The license authorizes the production, delivery and sale of Iranian oil. It will last through Aug. 21.
The license emerged Monday as U.S. Vice President JD Vance said his lengthy talks with senior Iranian officials in Switzerland created a “good foundation for a successful final deal.” Negotiators are seeking a permanent end to the war the U.S. and Israel began in late February.
Trump was not in Switzerland but loomed large over Iran talks
The talks were jolted by statements from Trump, who, from thousands of miles away, fired off comments that offended the Iranians.
Iranian state media said talks had paused after the “publication of an insulting message by the U.S. President.” The negotiations later continued.
Vance pushed back against the notion that Trump’s threats complicated the talks.
“No, they didn’t throw a wrench in the system,” Vance said. He added, “Yes, they did threaten to walk out, or at least there were social media threats that they would walk out. But we were negotiating well past one in the morning yesterday, so they didn’t walk out.”
Middle East has desperately asked the US for a deal, Vance says
Vance also said the U.S. was not imposing the deal on the region, even though the negotiations include provisions about the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, without representatives from Israel or Lebanon.
“This is a deal that the region has desperately asked the United States to put in place,” Vance said. “This region has been a basket case for a very long time.”
What Vance said about the IAEA
Vance touted that Iran had agreed to invite International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors back into the country. However, Iran did not acknowledge that and it was not immediately clear how big a shift that would be.
Since the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in 2025, inspectors have visited the Islamic Republic.
However, Tehran has refused inspectors access to the enrichment sites in the country bombed by the U.S., where Iran’s highly enriched uranium is believed to be buried.
Vance says he’s returning to the US as ‘technical’ team continues talks with Iran
Vance said that he was returning to Washington, but he said that talks would continue between the American and Iranian “technical teams.”
“We wanted to set up a structure for that so that you could have proper political oversight, but obviously, as much as this place is very beautiful, I can’t stay here for the next 60 days,” Vance told reporters.
The vice president said that the negotiating teams would have the proper oversight in DC as they waded into an array of issues including how to monitor and address the nuclear material in Iran.
Vance says he kept Israel posted on the talks
Vance said negotiators had been in constant contact with Netanyahu as well as other countries in the region throughout the negotiations in Switzerland. Some hardliners in Israel’s government have criticized Netanyahu for being sidelined in the negotiations.
Vance lists progress he says was made in Switzerland
Vance said Monday that the U.S. and Iran have made progress on four key points in initial negotiations in Switzerland, listing them as:
Establishing a mechanism for keeping the Strait of Hormuz open
Coordination for the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon
An agreement on IAEA inspection
A process for the technical negotiations that remain
Vance says any Iranian financial assets that were unfrozen could be used to buy American-grown food
The vice president said that Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of Trump and one of the lead U.S. negotiators, came up with the idea with officials from Qatar.
Vance said that Qatar would have approval over the process, but Iranian money that would be accessible as sanctions were lifted “would actually go to buy American soy, American corn and American wheat for the benefit of the Iranian people.”
Iran has not acknowledged this measure and does not currently have demand for U.S. crops.
Vance says Trump was right to respond to Iranian ‘trash talk’
Vance said that Iranian negotiators “did threaten to walk out” on peace talks, as he defended social media posts by Trump that criticized Iran.
“What we told the Iranians yesterday is when you guys engage in what us millennials might call ‘trash talk,’ you can’t expect the president of the United States not to respond and not to correct the record,” Vance said.
Vance noted that Iran’s team continued to negotiate and did not leave the talks, adding that the country’s team of technical experts had stayed in Switzerland.
“So, yes, there was a little bit of threatening, there was a little bit of whining,” Vance said. “But at the end of the day, the talks continued and we made great progress.”
Vance says peace talks with Iran had created a ‘good foundation for a successful final deal’ to end the war
Vice President JD Vance said that peace talks with Iran had created a “good foundation for a successful final deal” to end the war that began at the end of February.
“The final deal is the house,” Vance told reporters. “We set the foundation. We haven’t built the house, but we’ve laid a successful foundation to get to a good place for the American people.”
The vice president noted that Iran’s team did threaten to walk out of the talks, but he defended social media posts by Trump that had caused Iranian officials to feel offended.
“What we told the Iranians yesterday is when you guys engage in what us millennials might call ‘trash talk,’ you can’t expect the president of the United States not to respond and not to correct the record,” Vance said.
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