United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday defended Washington's deepening engagement with Pakistan, telling an Indian news channel that keeping diplomatic channels open with Islamabad could, in fact, work in New Delhi's favour by giving the United States the leverage to discourage actions that worry India.
In an exclusive interview with Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi in Mumbai, Rubio said: "I think, in a way, it could be a positive thing because 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."
The remarks came on the first day of Rubio's three-day visit to India — a trip meant to steady a relationship strained by tariff disputes and visa curbs, and to push a long-negotiated bilateral trade agreement across the finish line. The interview also put the spotlight on one of the thorniest issues in India-US ties: Washington's warming relationship with Pakistan under the second Donald Trump administration.
Rubio, a former US senator who in 2025 had vowed to cut American security aid to Pakistan if Islamabad sponsored terrorism against India, was pressed on whether that hard line still held. He drew a sharp line between opposing terrorism and maintaining diplomacy.
"We're against terrorism anywhere in the world. We're against anybody who sponsors terrorism," Rubio said, adding that his responsibilities had fundamentally changed since he traded the Senate for the State Department.
"In my new role, I am no longer the senator, as the Secretary of State, I have to manage the foreign policy of the United States and that does require us to have relationships with countries, including those that we may have some disagreements with," he said.
Explaining why Pakistan could not simply be shut out, Rubio pointed to two hard realities: its nuclear arsenal and its geography. "In the case of Pakistan, it's a country that we have to have a relationship with. It's a country that possesses nuclear weapons. It's a country that, from a geographical standpoint, we need to be able to interact with them," he said.
He then drew an unexpected parallel — with India's own diplomacy. Washington's need to engage Islamabad, he argued, was "in much the same way as the government of India has to have and has a relationship and meets with leaders from Iran."
The India-Iran comparison is a pointed one. New Delhi has long maintained ties with Tehran despite Western pressure, arguing that engagement serves its own interests. By invoking it, Rubio suggested that major powers routinely talk to governments they disagree with — and that Washington's outreach to Pakistan deserves the same understanding.
Rubio acknowledged that the balancing act was anything but easy. "So, these are difficult things to balance, but they have to be as part of our foreign policy," he said — before adding that the engagement could be "a positive thing" precisely because dialogue gives Washington a voice with Islamabad.
The comments landed hours after Rubio sat down with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Mumbai for talks covering regional and global issues, including developments in the Middle East. Earlier in the day, Jaishankar had set a firm tone on terrorism at the US consulate's Freedom 250 reception at the Jio World Convention Centre.
"We are clear on our right to defend ourselves against terrorism and expect our partners to show zero tolerance towards terrorism as well," Jaishankar said, in remarks widely read as a message to Washington about its Pakistan outreach.
Rubio also held a trilateral meeting with Jaishankar and UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Mumbai. The three leaders discussed cooperation in energy and connectivity and exchanged views on current regional and global developments, Jaishankar said in a post on X.
The visit comes at a sensitive moment. US-Pakistan ties have visibly strengthened under the second Trump administration through high-level dialogue, strategic cooperation and active mediation efforts, with Trump giving Islamabad the diplomatic spotlight, including as a mediator in the Iran conflict — a development that has sat uneasily with New Delhi, given India's longstanding concerns over cross-border terrorism.
The broader India-US relationship, meanwhile, faces its own strains over tariff-related concerns and visa restrictions. But Rubio struck an optimistic note on the long-pending bilateral trade deal, saying it was "incredibly close" and could be wrapped up "in a matter of weeks, not months."
"The purpose of making a deal is to have better rates than what you have now. But the more important thing is about ensuring that our trade relationship is in a sustainable way," Rubio said, adding that both sides were working through technical details and needed to agree on the exact terms before any announcement.
The trade push follows days of movement on the tariff front: Trump recently waived specified punitive duties and sanctions provisions under the Graham Act, which had authorised tariffs of up to 100 per cent on imports from countries buying Russian oil under specified conditions — a step with direct implications for India, which continues to import Russian crude.
Energy cooperation formed another pillar of the visit. Rubio said his planned visit to Reliance's Jamnagar facility in Gujarat was aimed at exploring greater energy cooperation between India and the United States. "Reliance is a very important company. It has extraordinary capacity to refine energy," he said, noting that the company's capabilities could help India diversify its energy sources while deepening cooperation with the US, particularly in refining energy supplies from the Western Hemisphere.
Rubio also said the next Quad Leaders Summit — bringing together India, the US, Japan and Australia — was expected to take place before the end of this year, most likely in Manila during the ASEAN conference. "Our hope is that the Quad Summit will occur before the end of this year. It's been an agreement now that we're going to do it," he said, adding that the grouping remained a key priority with several engagements between member countries in recent months.
On Iran, Rubio was blunt. He said it was "tough to make a deal with the Iranian regime," which he said was controlled by radical Shia clerics driven by theology. He accused Tehran of employing what he called "Nazi U-boat tactics" — openly targeting commercial vessels and trying to kill sailors — in the Strait of Hormuz, and said the United States would continue defending shipping and maintaining economic pressure on Iran.
Every dollar Iran accessed, he argued, was used "to sponsor terrorism" and to make missiles and drones aimed at sinking commercial vessels. He noted that many Indian sailors had lost their lives in strikes on shipping, given the large number of Indians working on commercial ships.
Rubio also addressed concerns about anti-Indian sentiment in the United States, including a reported plot targeting a Hindu temple in Illinois, saying: "I do not believe, nor have I ever perceived, that anti-Indian sentiment in the United States is widespread or deep." He said American communities came together to reject hate and support those targeted.
Taken together, the interview offered a clear window into how the Trump administration wants India to read its Pakistan policy: not as a tilt toward Islamabad, but as a deliberate channel that Washington believes can be used to address New Delhi's own concerns. Whether that argument persuades policymakers in New Delhi — who have watched Pakistan's cross-border activities with deep suspicion — remains the open question as Rubio's visit continues.
(Reporting based on Moneycontrol and News18.)