Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a pointed reminder Thursday that Iran will be judged by its actions, not its “maximalist” rhetoric, as the regime continues to contradict reports about the Strait of Hormuz and the terms of the latest negotiations.
The mixed signals have only added to the confusion around the new Iran agreement and deepened doubts about whether it is actually working. And while actions matter more than rhetoric, rhetoric still shapes the power dynamic between the two sides, especially as reports suggest the Iranians believe they had the upper hand in Switzerland over the weekend.
NEW: Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushes back on propaganda and lies being put out by the Iranian government on negotiations with the United States.
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 25, 2026
Rubio says the U.S. will judge Iran by its actions on the water rather than its "maximalist rhetoric" coming from state TV.… pic.twitter.com/azblLI2MwL
"So we've reached a point now in this where you're hearing, for example, the Iranians will say one thing, but then something else is actually happening. So here's what I would tell everybody. It's now obvious to us, and I think should be obvious to all of you, that the Iranian system is going to continue to produce all sorts of maximalist rhetoric," the Secretary of State said. "They're going to have people going on their TV, on their official media, and making all kinds of pronouncements. But what we're interested in is not their press conferences. What we're interested in is whether or not ships are moving. If ships are moving as they should be moving, then that's what we're going to judge and that's what we're going to react to."
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"If, on the other hand, this rhetoric is backed up by actual ships being threatened and ships are not moving, that's a violation of the agreement and we're going to have a problem with it," Rubio said.
Reports as late as Thursday indicate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is still broadcasting threats to ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
BREAKING 🔴
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) June 25, 2026
Ships are again turning around in the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC Navy continues to broadcast that the strait is closed, warning that only vessels with Iranian permission may pass and threatening consequences for noncompliance.@_martinkelly_ pic.twitter.com/Vdmjx25YmD
And yet record numbers of ships continue to travel through the Strait.
69 vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, the highest number since March 1, shipping data tracker Kpler tells Fox Business.
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 25, 2026
As Secretary of State Marco Rubio is back in the Middle East and meeting with counterparts about the Iran war and keeping the Strait… pic.twitter.com/YDghybfOEd
While Iran is playing nice in the Strait for now, the bigger question is why: Is it because Tehran has been allowed to resume oil sales, giving the regime an economic win, or because it genuinely respects the memorandum of understanding that ended the fighting?
The Trump administration has repeatedly said Iran gets no benefits until it follows through on American demands, yet the Iranians appear to have received a major upfront reward in the form of renewed access to their main revenue source, the shipping of their oil. That money is already raising concerns, as Iranian officials have reportedly vowed to channel some of it to Hezbollah in its fight against Israeli forces, while continuing to issue threats against the United States behind the scenes.
If there is a red line, Americans who support the fight against Iran deserve to know what it is.
At the same time, these are difficult negotiations that several administrations before the president have failed to succeed in, and not every detail can be made public in real time. But when the United States is asking for patience and trust, it helps to be as clear as possible about the objectives, the benchmarks, and the consequences if Iran does not comply.
The last thing Americans want is to suffer another defeat at the hands of a hostile terrorist regime.
Editor's Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.
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