Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio was asked about Iran diplomacy in his confirmation hearing and expressed some degree of openness to negotiations, stating “I imagine that within (Iran’s) regime, and I’m just saying this because of common sense, there are two schools of thought. There’s one group that’s saying now is the time where we need to find ourselves an off ramp…and buy ourselves some time. And then there’s another group that’s probably saying that now is the time to prove that we are a nuclear power or nuclear capable power, enrich from 60% to 90%, and press go, and that’s how we’re going to buy ourselves immunity from foreign action. And this is a tenuous moment in that regard, but it’s one we need to acknowledge. My view of it is that we should be open to any arrangement that allows us to have safety and stability in the region, but one in which we’re clear eyed. Any concessions we make to the Iranian regime, we should anticipate that they will use, as they have used in the past, to build their weapons systems and to try to restart their sponsorship of Hezbollah and other related entities around the region because they seek to become the dominant regional power.”