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• Rubio arrives in Middle East to convince Gulf leaders on Washington-Tehran deal
• Public holidays for Khamenei’s funeral to begin from July 4, burial to be held in Mashhad
DUBAI / TEHRAN: As Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in the Gulf to pitch Washington’s peace deal to leaders in the Middle East, US President Donald Trump insisted that Iran had agreed to nuclear inspections into “infinity”, despite Tehran’s denials.
US President Donald Trump said that Iran is wrong about there not being any plans for International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) officials to inspect damaged nuclear sites in the country, adding that UN nuclear watchdog inspectors will be on the ground in Iran at the “appropriate time”.
The statement came after Iran denied it had discussed its nuclear programme at the talks, mediated by Qatar and Pakistan, and said it had not agreed to invite IAEA inspectors back.
Meanwhile, Washington’s top diplomat arrived in the United Arab Emirates late on Tuesday and was due to travel in coming days to Kuwait and Bahrain, where he will meet officials from the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Rubio also insisted that the US would not accept any attempt to impose tolls or fees on Strait of Hormuz.
“It’s an international waterway. No country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway,” he said, adding that he believed “all the countries in this region would agree”.
Asked if he was planning to address allies’ disquiet with the accord, Rubio told reporters: “That most certainly will come up in these discussions.” He said they would also discuss issues not covered by the memorandum of understanding.
At issue are elements of a draft agreement that includes no limits on Irans ballistic missiles, a proposed $300 billion reconstruction fund and provisions that could expand Tehrans regional influence and control over critical oil shipping lanes.
More broadly, US officials have begun speaking about a broader reset for Tehran, a potential transformation that most GCC states are wary of.
Rubio said he would not be asking regional allies to contribute to any reconstruction fund during the trip, even as the MoU suggests that countries in the region would at least be partially responsible for footing the bill. He said that was a discussion for the future, and Iran receiving any funds would depend on Tehran’s behavior going forward.
“That’s far down the road,” Rubio said.
N-disagreement
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said on Tuesday Iranian officials had not held a meeting with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi in Switzerland and had no plans for the UN nuclear watchdog to inspect Iran’s damaged nuclear facilities.
When the US joined Israel’s previous war with Iran in mid-2025, it bombed nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, including with powerful bunker-busting munitions.
Trump hit back on Tuesday at what he said were Iran’s “protestations and false statements”.
“Iran has fully and completely agreed to highest level Nuclear inspections long into the future (Infinity!!!),” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
He also said any Iranian assets unfrozen under the deal would be placed in an escrow account and used to buy food and medical supplies from the US “including Corn, Wheat, and Soybeans from our great American Farmers”.
Iran’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, had earlier on Tuesday denied there had been any such agreement.
Bahreini said “good progress” had been made in the talks and that two working groups would be established in coming days to focus on the removal of sanctions and Iran’s nuclear activities.
Khamenei’s funeral
Iran announced three days of public holidays in the capital Tehran for late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s last rites, state television reported.
“The farewell ceremony and prayers for the martyred leader’s body will be held on Saturday and Sunday, July 4th and 5th, in Tehran’s Grand Mosalla, and the funeral will be held on Monday, July 6th, and Tehran province will be off for these three days,” IRGC commander Hassan Hassanzadeh, in charge of the ceremonies, was quoted as saying.
Earlier, state media said Tehran would be on holiday on July 4 and 5, while the rest of the country will join in on July 6. The holy city of Qom will also host a tribute on July 7. The former supreme leader will be laid to rest on July 9 in Mashhad, his birthplace.
Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2026
