House Foreign Relations

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he's optimistic about the potential for a resumption in nuclear talks with Iran despite a shaky ceasefire in the war that's looking increasingly in doubt. Rubio told lawmakers Tuesday the Iranians have agreed to negotiate on nuclear points they had not been willing to address in the past. Rubio wouldn't offer an assessment on what those talks might produce and added it was no guarantee they would result in an an acceptable deal. Rubio's optimism runs counter to reports by two semiofficial Iranian news agencies that Iran has stopped communicating with mediators after Israel threatened to bomb Beirut as it fights the Hezbollah militant group.