For subscribers
Rubio’s absence from Iran talks highlights stay-at-home role
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
In recent months, Mr Marco Rubio – consumed with his second role as US President Donald Trump’s national security adviser – has not travelled much at all.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Michael Crowley
WASHINGTON – When then US President Barack Obama negotiated a nuclear deal with Iran more than a decade ago, his point man was Secretary of State John Kerry. Over 20 months of talks, Mr Kerry met his Iranian counterpart on at least 18 different days, often several times a day.
High-level nuclear diplomacy was a natural role for the top US diplomat. Secretaries of state traditionally take the lead on the country’s biggest diplomatic tasks, from arms control treaties to Israeli-Palestinian agreements.
