NEWS DESK (MNN); US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has indicated that a planned Israeli strike on Iran influenced the timing of Washington’s military assault on Tehran.
Speaking to reporters after briefing congressional leaders on Monday, Rubio said the United States was aware that Israel intended to attack Iran and anticipated that Tehran would respond by targeting American interests in the region. He said US forces acted pre-emptively to limit potential casualties.
“We knew there was going to be an Israeli action,” Rubio said. “We believed that would trigger attacks against American forces, and if we did not move first, we would face greater losses.”
His remarks came shortly before the US military confirmed that its death toll in the conflict had risen to six after two additional bodies were recovered from a facility in the region struck by Iran.
Tehran launched retaliatory drone and missile strikes across the Middle East after joint US-Israeli attacks killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, several senior officials and hundreds of civilians. Iranian strikes reportedly targeted US bases and assets in the Gulf.
Rubio maintained that although the US and Israel initiated the offensive, Washington was responding to an imminent threat, arguing that Israel would have attacked Iran regardless.
Israel, a key US ally, has received more than $21 billion in American military assistance since 2023. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long warned about Iran’s military and nuclear ambitions.
On Sunday, Netanyahu said the strikes were being carried out with the support of his “friend,” US President Donald Trump, adding that the campaign fulfilled a decades-long objective.
Rubio said intelligence assessments showed Iran was expanding its missile and drone stockpiles, which he claimed were intended to shield its nuclear programme and potentially enable the development of a nuclear weapon.
The conflict erupted less than 48 hours after a new round of talks between American and Iranian officials over Tehran’s nuclear activities.
While Rubio stated that the immediate objective is to dismantle Iran’s missile and drone capabilities, he also signalled US support for political change in Tehran, saying Washington would welcome a new future shaped by the Iranian people.
Later Monday, the US State Department advised American citizens in more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries — including Gulf Cooperation Council states, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories — to depart immediately using commercial transport due to escalating security risks.
The advisory underscored mounting instability and fears of further regional escalation.
