Rubio cites India-Iran ties to defend closer US engagement with Pakistan

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has defended Washington’s growing engagement with Pakistan by drawing a parallel with India’s relationship with Iran, saying governments often need to maintain working ties with countries despite areas of disagreement.

Speaking during his visit to India, Rubio said the United States had to manage relationships according to its wider foreign-policy interests, including its ties with Pakistan. The US secretary of state is in India for a three-day visit focused on trade, energy and wider strategic cooperation.

Asked by Indian news channel Network18 about his earlier position as a senator, when he had proposed legislation that could restrict US security assistance to Pakistan in certain circumstances involving India, Rubio said his responsibilities had changed since becoming secretary of state.

“We’re against terrorism anywhere in the world. We’re against anybody who sponsors terrorism,” Rubio said, according to a transcript released by the US State Department. “In my new role, I’m no longer a senator; I’m the Secretary of State, I have to manage the foreign policy of the United States.”

He said that required Washington to maintain ties with countries even where disagreements existed, adding that the US needed a relationship with Pakistan “in much the same way as the Government of India has to have and has a relationship and meets with leaders from Iran.”

Rubio also suggested that US engagement with Pakistan could provide Washington with a channel to discuss some of India’s concerns.

“If we have a relationship and we can speak to them it could perhaps help us, perhaps puts us in a position to help discourage the kinds of things that India is worried about,” he said.

Pakistan-Iran diplomacy remains active

Rubio’s comparison comes as Pakistan continues to play a diplomatic role between the United States and Iran.

On Tuesday, Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir met senior Iranian leaders in Tehran as Islamabad sought to revive stalled US-Iran negotiations. Iranian officials told CDF Munir that Tehran would not return to talks with Washington until its conditions were met, while also reiterating that Iran’s enriched nuclear material would remain inside the country.

The visit was CDF Munir’s fifth to Tehran since Pakistan helped broker an interim understanding between Washington and Tehran in June. The Islamabad Memorandum later faltered as fighting resumed and negotiations stalled.

Pakistan has since continued efforts to keep diplomatic channels open, with sanctions, the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear programme among the issues under discussion.

Rubio’s comparison placed US engagement with Pakistan alongside India’s continued relationship with Iran despite New Delhi’s close ties with Washington.

US-Pakistan ties expand under Trump

US-Pakistan relations have seen increased high-level engagement during President Donald Trump’s second term, including political, military and economic contacts.

The relationship gained further visibility after the India-Pakistan military confrontation in May 2025. Trump has repeatedly said US diplomacy helped bring an end to four days of fighting between the two countries, while India has rejected claims of US mediation in the ceasefire.

A month after the clashes, Trump hosted Field Marshal Munir for lunch at the White House, marking another high-level engagement between Washington and Islamabad.

Rubio’s remarks came as the United States continues to deepen ties with India while maintaining its engagement with Pakistan, with the secretary of state arguing that Washington’s relationships with the two South Asian countries need not be viewed as mutually exclusive.