(Headline USA) Secretary of State Marco Rubio is facing questions about the Trump administration’s fragile or stalling diplomatic efforts around the world in back-to-back hearings on Capitol Hill for the first time since the Iran war began.
He testified that U.S. negotiators have seen signs that Iran’s new supreme leader has been engaged with negotiations despite not being seen publicly.
In a tense back-and-forth, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker and Rubio argued over who has the upper-hand in the more than two month war between United Staes and Iran.
The New Jersey lawmaker pointed to the unsteady ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, which has been further tested in recent days by back-and-forth attacks.
“We are the strongest nation on the planet Earth, and we’re in a stalemate with Iran,” Booker said to the secretary. “And now we’re begging to get back into a deal that you all trashed in the first place.”
“There’s no one begging,” Rubio responded, detailing what he called the dire situation of Iran’s economy. “I don’t know where you’re getting this perception that Iran is stronger.”
Detailing the fractured Iranian leadership, Rubio says U.S. negotiators have seen signs that Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father to become the country’s new supreme leader, has been engaged with negotiations despite not being seen publicly.
“I would imagine, given what’s happened to multiple leaders in that system, being very public is probably not something that’s recommended for them internally,” he said. “But that said, I think there are indications out there that he is increasingly engaging at some level, although all of his communications have been in writing and through intermediaries.”
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy pushed Rubio to see what incentives, if any, Washington is willing to offer Tehran in exchange for a deal.
Rubio said that any sanctions relief would have to come after major concession on the nuclear issue and the enriched uranium.
“Will they receive relief just in exchange for reopening the strait?” Murphy asked.
Rubio responded, “No, that’s not been discussed. That’s not been offered.”
Pressed by Democrats and Republicans on the status of negotiations with Tehran, Rubio tried to present a more optimistic view on the progress Washington has made with the Iranian regime.
“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,” he said. But he added that it’s “not a guarantee that ultimately it will lead to a deal that’s acceptable” by Congress. He said these negotiations have been made difficult by the instability of Iran’s leadership.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press.
