US Secretary of State Marco Rubio begins a Middle East tour in earnest on Wednesday, seeking to reassure Gulf allies who reportedly view concessions in President Donald Trump’s Iran deal that include a proposed $300 billion fund as too generous to a regional foe.
Arriving in Abu Dhabi late on Tuesday for a three-day Gulf trip, Rubio is undertaking his first high-level diplomatic mission on the agreement reached last week to end the four-month-old US-Israeli war with Iran.
Asked on arrival if he planned to address allies’ disquiet with the accord, Rubio told reporters: “That most certainly will come up in these discussions.” He said they would also discuss issues not covered by the memorandum of understanding.
America’s top diplomat has been largely absent from Iran-related discussions in recent weeks, with Vice President JD Vance instead leading a round of talks with Iranian counterparts over the weekend in Switzerland.
Rubio’s remarks during his swing through the region will be closely scrutinised to see how the man once known as a hawkish critic of Iran frames a deal that many congressional Republicans argue amounts to capitulation.
Rubio and Vance, both former US senators, are widely viewed within Republican Party circles as potential candidates to succeed Trump, with party insiders and early polling often casting the race as a two-way contest between them.
Rubio’s mission is delicate: While he needs to defend a preliminary accord that Trump firmly supports, he also has to credibly address the concerns of his Gulf counterparts, who are more circumspect about the deal.
