Jacky Rosen

Secretary of State Marco Rubio clashed Tuesday with Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., after she accused him of being at a party in Miami with President Donald Trump while other senior U.S. officials were involved in negotiations with Iran.

Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio interrupted Rosen after she asked why he was not in Pakistan for the April discussions, according to the Washington Examiner.

"I was shocked to see that you were at a party with President Trump in Miami instead of accompanying Vice President Vance to Pakistan for negotiations," Rosen said.

Rubio immediately objected and asked Rosen to identify the alleged party.

"That's an absurd statement," he said. "I was not at a party."

"People are going to slander me, I'm going to answer it," the secretary added.

The talks were held April 11-12 in Pakistan, with Vance joined by presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and former adviser. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf represented Tehran.

Trump and Rubio were in Miami on April 11 for a UFC event.

Rosen pressed Rubio over Araghchi's attendance at the negotiations, saying, "I just feel that's embarrassing for us and it's embarrassing for you," that Iran's foreign minister was present while the U.S. secretary of state was not.

Rubio said Rosen was misrepresenting the situation and insisted he was engaged in the talks while staying close to Trump.

"I was not at a party. Where I was, is next to the president because in the midst of those negotiations, I was in communications with them and in fact, I think there's media reporting from that evening on how on multiple occasions I went into a back room and came back out and spoke to the president and was constantly updating him," he said.

The moment underscored the scrutiny surrounding the Trump administration's diplomatic outreach to Iran.

Although Washington and Tehran remain in discussions, the two governments have not yet announced a breakthrough.

The administration is reportedly seeking a two-part agreement.

The initial phase would deal with maritime security and threats to commercial traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, while the second would focus on Iran's nuclear activities.

Under that approach, the United States would remove its blockade of Iranian ports if Tehran stopped threatening commercial vessels.

Sanctions relief tied to Iranian nuclear concessions would be considered separately and based on conditions.