WASHINGTON(National Times)- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Israel next week, where he will discuss Iran, the State Department said in a statement on Friday, as the US has assembled a large military force in the region amid rising tensions with Tehran. The State Department said Rubio would travel to Israel March 2-3. He is also set to discuss other regional priorities, including Lebanon and US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan. Meanwhile, Iran and the United States held hours of indirect negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program but walked away without a deal, leaving the danger of another Mideast war on the table as the US has gathered a massive fleet of aircraft and warships in the region. Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who mediated the talks in Geneva, said there had been “significant progress in the negotiation” without elaborating. But just before the talks ended, Iranian state television reported that Tehran was determined to continue enriching uranium, rejected proposals to transfer it abroad and sought the lifting of international sanctions, indicating it was not prepared to meet US President Donald Trump’s demands. Trump wants a deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear program, and he sees an opportunity while the country is struggling at home with growing dissent following nationwide protests. Iran also hopes to avert war, but maintains it has the right to enrich uranium and does not want to discuss other issues, like its long-range missile program or support for armed groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. In an interview with Iranian state television, Iran’s foreign minister said the talks with the US were some of the country’s “most intense and longest rounds of negotiations.” Abbas Araghchi offered no specifics but said “what needs to happen has been clearly spelled out from our side.”