Secretary of state Marco Rubio on Thursday said that the US remains aware of the potential for a broader escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan after the bomb blast near Delhi’s Red Fort three days earlier, even as he praised the Indian investigation into the attack.
“We are aware of the potential that it has, and so we spoke about that a little bit today, the potential that it has to become something broader,” he said on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers meeting in Canada.
Rubio, who met with external affairs minister S Jaishankar and offered his condolences for the lives lost in Monday’s terror attack, said they will wait to see what India’s investigation reveals. “We have offered to help. but I think they are very capable in these investigations. They do not need our help,” Rubio said.
Rubio was responding to a query about the possibility of increased tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad in the aftermath of the attack. He praised India’s “measured” and “cautious” approach to the investigation. Rubio said the blast was “clearly a terrorist attack”.
Rubio was involved in the backroom diplomacy between Washington, New Delhi, and Islamabad after India launched Operation Sindoor in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack in April. The US State Department listed the Resistance Front, the outfit that claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack, a terrorist entity in July.
{{/usCountry}}Rubio was involved in the backroom diplomacy between Washington, New Delhi, and Islamabad after India launched Operation Sindoor in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack in April. The US State Department listed the Resistance Front, the outfit that claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack, a terrorist entity in July.
{{/usCountry}}In a statement in July, Rubio had said the move demonstrated the Trump administration’s commitment to protecting national security interests, countering terrorism, and enforcing his call for justice for the Pahalgam attack.
On Monday, the US State Department’s South and Central Asia Bureau condoled the lives lost in the Delhi terrorist attack. “Our hearts are with those affected by the terrible explosion in New Delhi. We continue to closely monitor the situation. Our sincere condolences to the families who lost their loved ones. Praying for the speedy recovery of those injured,” it said in a statement on X. Newly appointed US ambassador to India Sergio Gor also issued a statement of condolences.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and defence minister Rajnath Singh have promised to hold the conspirators behind the Delhi blast accountable.