WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he is optimistic about the potential for a resumption in nuclear talks with Iran despite a shaky ceasefire in the war looking increasingly in doubt.
Rubio told lawmakers Tuesday in his first public testimony since the Iran war began that the Iranians have agreed to negotiate on nuclear points that they had not been willing to address in the past but would not offer an assessment on what those talks might produce.
“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,” Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He did not elaborate.
He added, however, that it’s “not a guarantee that ultimately it will lead to a deal that’s acceptable” and that these negotiations have been made difficult by the instability of Iran’s leadership.
His optimism is running into the revelation that Iran has stopped communicating with mediators after Israel threatened to bomb Beirut as it fights the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah, two semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported Tuesday. On the same day, the State Department was hosting a new round of political talks between Israel and Lebanon as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has intensified, throwing an already fragile ceasefire into new uncertainty.
Rubio faced a litany of questions from lawmakers about the Trump administration’s fragile or stalling diplomatic efforts around the world as he began two days of congressional testimony. He was questioned about foreign aid cuts, strikes on boats accused of trafficking drugs in Latin America and much more.
Rubio grilled on Iran war
The Republican former senator is sitting before House and Senate committees to make the State Department’s annual budget request. But the focus shifted quickly to the already unsteady ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, which has been further tested in recent days by back-and-forth attacks.
Cabinet members, including Rubio, have defended President Donald Trump’s decision to launch the conflict despite promises over the years not to engage in “forever wars” in the Middle East. That work has been made more difficult by Trump’s shifting goals for the conflict.
While Rubio is testifying before Congress for the first time since the Iran war started on Feb. 28, he took part in a classified briefing for lawmakers days after the first U.S. and Israeli strikes. He faced Democrats’ anger over the lack of congressional approval but strong support from most Republicans for taking action against one of America’s oldest adversaries.
In the two months since the war began, however, a small but growing faction of Republicans have joined Democrats in questioning the astronomical price tag and overall economic consequences of the conflict as they head into midterm elections in the fall. The war has cut tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway through which 20% of the world’s traded oil and natural gas passes in peacetime, spiking gas prices.
Last month, the Senate advanced legislation for the first time that would have forced Trump to withdraw from the conflict after GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana — fresh off a primary election loss in which Trump endorsed his opponent — joined Democrats in pushing it forward.
The House also had scheduled a vote on a war powers resolution, but GOP leadership kept it from coming to the floor after it became clear that the majority party would not have the numbers to defeat it.
The actions show the GOP is struggling to maintain political backing for Trump’s handling of the war as rank-and-file Republicans are increasingly willing to defy the president over the conflict.
Following his appearances Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Appropriations subcommittee responsible for the State Department, Rubio will return to the Hill on Wednesday to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee and equivalent Senate Appropriations subcommittee.
Rubio faces protesters on Cuba
Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, also is likely to be questioned about the Trump administration’s escalatory behavior toward Cuba, as Trump has hinted that the small island country could be the next U.S. target after operations in Iran are wrapped up.
He faced chants from protesters who urged him to “stop killing Cubans” when he entered a Senate briefing room. The protesters were quickly pulled from the room. Their chants also included “Let Cuba live!”
Despite a series of meetings between U.S. and Cuban officials, Trump and Rubio have renewed threats against the island’s government, which take on greater weight after the administration announced criminal charges against former President Raúl Castro. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned the indictment as a political stunt that sought only to “justify the folly of a military aggression against Cuba.”
Over his congressional career and now as America’s top diplomat, Rubio has maintained that Cuba is a national security threat because of its ties to U.S. adversaries and that Trump is intent on addressing it.
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Amiri reported from New York.
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