U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio signaled that efforts between the U.S. and Iran to end the war were deadlocked, amid growing international backlash over the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, which has interrupted the world’s fuel supply and affected living costs globally. Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Rubio said the latest proposal by Iran was “better than what we thought they were going to submit.” But he said that the U.S. administration faced “a deeply fractured” leadership in Iran, complicating efforts to negotiate an end to the war. Rubio indicated that no progress had been made on the U.S. demand for Iran to give up its nuclear ambition. “That fundamental issue still has to be confronted. That still remains the core issue here,” Rubio said in the interview. “We can’t let them get away with it,” he said. “They’re very experienced negotiators, and we have to ensure that any deal that is made, any agreement that is made, is one that definitively prevents them from sprinting towards a nuclear weapon at any point.” His comments came amid Iran’s diplomatic outreach to Russia, as Iranian officials sought to gain political leverage and foreign support. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, met on Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who expressed his support for Iran in its war with the U.S. and Israel. Araghchi also traveled to Oman and Pakistan for talks over the weekend…Read more