Washington DC:US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday said that Iran's Supreme LeaderMojtaba Khameneiis alive. Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Khamenei is becoming active. Notably, Mojtaba Khamenei got injured in the US-Israeli airstrikes on Tehran on February 28.

"I think there are indications out there that he is increasingly engaging at some level," the US Secretary of State said. Last month, US intelligence had claimed that Mojtaba Khamenei was living in seclusion at an undisclosed location with severely limited contact with the outside world, according to US officials familiar with the matter quoted by CBS News.

The officials, quoted in the report, said communication difficulties inside Iran's leadership structure have complicated negotiations with the Trump administration and contributed to delays in talks over a possible agreement between Washington and Tehran.

In the February 28 strikes, Mojtaba's father, Ali Khamenei, also died. Ali Khamenei ruled Iran for almost 37 years. Since the US and Isarel launched an offensive on Iran, Mojtaba has not made any public appearance. However, on several occasions, his messages threatening the US were aired on Iranian channels.

Marco RubioOn Iran Agreed For Talks On Its Nuclear Programme:

Rubion told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Iran has agreed to negotiate aspects of its nuclear programme."There is the prospect before us... that, for the first time, certainly in my memory, they have agreed to negotiate aspects of their nuclear program that just a month ago, just a year ago, they were refusing to even mention, much less enter into discussions about,: Rubio said.

The US Secretary of State said the US forces destroyed the conventional shield of Iran under which it was trying to develop nuclear weapons.

"Iran's desire to build a nuclear weapon was going to be built, was going to be effectuated behind a conventional shield. They were going to build for themselves so many missiles, so many drones, so many conventional weapons, including a navy, that at that point there's nothing you could do about it," Rubio stated.

Rubio's statement is important because Tehran has consistently rejected US proposal to open negotiations on sensitive elements of its nuclear programme.

Sumit Sharma is a Deputy News Editor at Times Now with around a decade of experience across print, electronic, and digital media. Previously, he worke...View More

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