Rubio in India: US must keep ties with nuclear-armed Pakistan, just as India talks to Iran

Key takeaways

• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended Washington's relationship with Pakistan in an interview with India's News18, given during his visit to India.
• He said the US "has to have a relationship" with Pakistan because it has nuclear weapons and because of its geographic position. He compared this to India keeping ties with Iran.
• Rubio said the US is "against terrorism anywhere in the world". He argued that talking to Pakistan could help the US "discourage the kinds of things that India is worried about".
• He said an India-US trade deal is "incredibly close", with only technical details left.
• The visit took him to Mumbai and Jamnagar, where he toured Reliance's refinery complex. It comes as the Iran war squeezes global energy markets.

What Rubio said about Pakistan

The interviewer reminded Rubio that as a US senator he had proposed cutting security aid to Pakistan if it sponsored terrorism against India, and asked whether that position had changed. According to the official State Department transcript, Rubio said that as Secretary of State he has to run US foreign policy, and that this means keeping relationships even with countries the US disagrees with.

He said Pakistan is a country "we have to have a relationship with", adding that it has nuclear weapons and that the US needs to interact with it "from a geographic standpoint". He compared this to the Indian government having a relationship with Iran and meeting its leaders.

Rubio called these "difficult things to balance". He said engaging Pakistan "could be a positive thing" because it may put the US in a position to help prevent what India worries about.

Pakistani outlets, including Geo News, also reported the remarks. Indian media described them as an assurance that US-Pakistan ties will not come at India's expense.

Trade and energy

On trade, Rubio told News18 the India-US deal is "incredibly close" and is "down to some technical details". He said US Trade Representative officials are handling the negotiations, and that nothing should be announced until every detail is agreed.

In his meeting with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Mumbai, the State Department said, Rubio pushed for more Indian purchases of US energy and technology. He also praised progress on defence and civil nuclear cooperation. A State Department post on X said US LPG now makes up about 67% of India's LPG imports, up from under 10% a year ago.

The Washington Post reports that ties remain strained over US tariffs, immigration policy and Washington's outreach to Pakistan.

On Iran and the Strait of Hormuz

Rubio said it is "very difficult to make a deal" with Iran's government. He claimed traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is running at 80–100% of pre-war levels on any given night, while accusing Iran of targeting commercial ships. TalkEmber has not independently checked these shipping figures.

Why it matters for Pakistan and India

• For Pakistan: the US's top diplomat has said publicly, on Indian television, that Washington sees a working relationship with Islamabad as necessary.
• For India: Rubio framed US-Pakistan ties as something that could serve Indian security concerns. Critics in India are likely to keep watching how US engagement with Pakistan develops.

What to watch

• Whether India and the US announce the trade deal soon.
• A possible Quad leaders' meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Manila, which Rubio said is planned but has no date yet.
• Any response from Pakistan's Foreign Office to Rubio's remarks. None had been reported at the time of writing.