U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press at the US Embassy in Rome on May 8, 2026. <\/p>\n
Stefano Rellandini | AFP | Getty Images<\/p>\n
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio<\/a> said the U.S. is expecting a response on Friday from Iran on the proposal to end the war.<\/p>\n “We should know something today. … We’re expecting a response from them,” Rubio told reporters in Rome on Friday while visiting Pope Leo XIV, when asked about the status of negotiations with Iran.<\/p>\n “We’ll see what the response entails. The hope is it’s something that can put us into a serious process in negotiation.”<\/p>\n Iran<\/a>\u00a0said Thursday it is reviewing messages<\/a> from the U.S. received via Pakistani mediators, but it has yet to reach a conclusion or deliver a reply, according to Iranian state media, citing an Iranian official.<\/p>\n Axios and other news outlets reported earlier this week that the countries were nearing a 14-point memorandum of understanding to put an end to the war and resume talks around Iran’s nuclear program.<\/p>\n Read more CNBC politics coverage<\/p>\n Rubio’s comments come amid confusion over whether a ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. is still in effect, as both have opened fire in the Strait of Hormuz, accusing the other of initiating attacks.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump<\/a> on Thursday insisted the ceasefire was still in effect, calling the strikes “just a love tap.”<\/a> Trump also said the Iranians wanted to “make a deal very much.”<\/p>\n “We’ve seen a report overnight that Iran has established, or trying to establish, some agency that’s going to control traffic in the straits. That would be [a] problem. That would actually be unacceptable,” Rubio said Friday.<\/p>\n The blockade of the narrow waterway, which normally carries around a fifth of global oil supply, has caused a global energy shock. The International Energy Agency has called the situation “the biggest energy security threat in history.”<\/p>\n \u2014 CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report. <\/p>\n