Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that Iran 'should' deliver its response to a U.S. peace proposal by Friday, according to Bloomberg Politics. Rubio made the statement in Rome after meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — a notable venue choice, given Italy's position as a European interlocutor with fewer sanctions entanglements than the UK, France, or Germany.
Read the play: public deadlines in diplomacy are pressure tools, not scheduling memos. Rubio naming a day gives the administration a clean news cycle to declare Iran unserious if Friday passes quietly — and a ready-made win to claim if Tehran bites. Either outcome is usable domestically. The White House gets a foreign policy headline either way, while Congress stays out of it entirely. Executive-branch dealmaking, no treaty vote required.