U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has delivered one of his sharpest public splits yet between the Iranian people and the government that rules them. He said the Iranian people are "great" and "fundamentally different" from what he called a "small core of violent maniacs" running the country, adding that the situation is "very sick." Rubio says he has talked about this before, stressing how great Iran is and how great its people are. Those are his words and his characterization, and they are not a verified description of the Iranian government or its officials.

The timing is hard to miss. The remarks land while US-Iran negotiations over nuclear issues, sanctions and the Strait of Hormuz are reportedly stalled, and Rubio recently described Tehran's demands as outrageous and unrealistic. This is also not a one-off. He has drawn the same line before, including in earlier remarks this year where he called the Iranian people "incredible" and put the blame on their leadership. The big question is whether this message, aimed at ordinary Iranians and at audiences back home, helps the talks or makes them harder, and Washington and Tehran will keep being asked that as the standoff drags on.