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Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, marking Rubio\u2019s first public testimony since the war with Iran began. Rubio hinted at the administration’s negotiations with Iran possibly restarting amid the shaky ceasefire. <\/p>\n
Iranian leaders agreed to negotiate aspects of their nuclear program that they refused to even mention a year ago, Rubio told lawmakers. Rubio did not clarify what points Iran was seemingly open to changing, and noted that it still doesn\u2019t guarantee that both parties would successfully broker an acceptable deal. The secretary further echoed President Donald Trump\u2019s repeated insistence that the Iranian navy has been defeated. Iran\u2019s navy is at the bottom of the ocean, Rubio told<\/a> lawmakers. <\/p>\n The secretary pushed back on critics who accused the administration of leapfrogging diplomacy efforts and plunging straight into expensive wars. Diplomacy has always been the cheapest option, and this administration has been extremely effective in de-escalating crises or ending active wars internationally, he said. Some of that diplomacy hasn\u2019t even been publicly discussed because it wasn\u2019t considered high-profile enough, Rubio added<\/a>. <\/p>\n What else did Rubio say during the testimony? Rubio repeated his previously shared opinions on Cuba and the country\u2019s links to sponsored terror. Nearly every left-wing violent terror group in the West received support from Cuba, he said<\/a>. <\/p>\n