Lawmakers Grill Rubio on Iran, Cuba, Ebola

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that he is optimistic about the potential for a resumption in nuclear talks with Iran despite a shaky ceasefire in the war that is looking increasingly in doubt. Rubio defended the Trump administration's approach to Iran and other global hotspots in back-to-back hearings before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a House Appropriations subcommittee, the AP reports. He was briefly disrupted by protesters at each session.

• In his first public testimony since the Iran war began at the end of February, Rubio said 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. He noted, however, that there was no guarantee "it will lead to a deal that's acceptable" and that negotiations have been made difficult by the instability of Iran's leadership.
• Rubio's optimism ran counter to pessimistic reports from 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. President Trump disputed that Iran has cut off communication with mediators, calling the Iranian reports "false and erroneous."
• Rubio said the first phase under discussion would involve Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but he denied that sanctions relief would be granted in return, Politico reports. "Any sanctions relief is conditions-based, which means it has to be in return for the reason why those sanctions were put in place in the first place, which is their nuclear program," he told senators.
• Rubio also said there are indications that Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is taking a bigger part in the discussions despite not being seen publicly since the war began. "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," he said.

• Ebola. Rubio's wide-ranging testimony was met with fierce objections from Democrats, including tough questions about the status of US foreign assistance to respond to diseases such as the Ebola outbreak in Africa. Rubio insisted the dismantlement of the US Agency for International Development had not affected Washington's ability to assist with global humanitarian responses.
• Arms sales to Taiwan. Rubio acknowledged that the Trump administration is holding up a potential $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan but said it remained under consideration and would not be canceled. He noted that the US sold arms to Taiwan in December worth $11 billion. He said the deal is not under review because of pressure from China, although he said the Chinese bring up the issue in discussions with the United States. Trump has described it as a great negotiating chip.
• Cuba. Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, was also questioned about the Trump administration's escalatory behavior toward Cuba, as Trump has hinted that the small island country could be the next US target after operations in Iran are wrapped up. He faced chants from protesters who urged him to "stop killing Cubans" when he entered the Senate briefing room. The protesters were quickly pulled from the room. Rubio defended the administration's approach and said it would remain focused on changing the Cuban government's policies. "I really don't believe this system is capable of reform unless new people take over or a new mindset takes hold," he said.