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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said reaching an agreement with Iran will be difficult but expressed cautious optimism as American negotiators head to Geneva for nuclear talks.
"Our negotiators are going there right now. They will have meetings; we'll see what happens. We are hopeful. There could be a deal," Rubio told reporters at a joint press conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest on Monday, Feb. 16.
"President (Donald Trump) always prefers peaceful outcomes and negotiated solutions. He is a president who has shown he is willing to talk to everyone and meet with everyone," Rubio said.
However, the secretary of state tempered expectations, noting the challenges of negotiating with Tehran.
"Iran is ultimately run by Shia clerics, and decisions are determined by Shia clerics, radical Shia clerics. These people make policy decisions entirely based on theology," he stated.
"I think there is an opportunity here to diplomatically reach an agreement that addresses the things we're concerned about. We'll be very open and welcoming to that. But I don't want to overstate it either. It's going to be hard," he added.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) began military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, a day before a second round of indirect nuclear negotiations with the United States in Geneva.
The "Smart Control of the Strait of Hormuz" drill aims to assess the operational readiness of IRGC naval forces and evaluate security plans for responding to potential military threats, the Guards' public relations division said in a statement.
"The rapid, decisive, and comprehensive response of IRGC operational forces to anti-security plots in the maritime domain is at the core of the intelligence and operational exercises of the units participating in the drill," the statement said.
The exercises, overseen by Guards chief General Mohammad Pakpour, are designed to demonstrate Iran's geopolitical advantages in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 20% of the world's oil production passes, is one of the most strategically important chokepoints in global trade.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the waterway in retaliation against any attack.
The drill comes amid a significant American military buildup in the region that Tehran views as a security threat.
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and a fleet of destroyers are already stationed in the Persian Gulf. U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that a second carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, would deploy to the Middle East "very soon."
Trump has described the naval deployment as an "armada" while pressuring Iran to reach an agreement on its nuclear program.
Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, warned Sunday that any war against the country would serve as "a lesson" for the U.S. president.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi in Geneva on Monday ahead of the nuclear negotiations.
"I have just completed comprehensive technical discussions with Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi before the important negotiations planned for tomorrow in Geneva," Grossi wrote on the social media platform X.
The meeting addressed technical issues related to Iran's nuclear program, according to Iran's official IRNA news agency.
Iran suspended cooperation with the IAEA in June 2025 following Israeli and U.S. attacks during the 12-day war.
Tehran later agreed to resume cooperation in Cairo in September but declared that the agreement was void after U.N. sanctions were reimposed through the snapback mechanism at the initiative of Britain, France, and Germany.
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