WASHINGTON, DC – Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday repeatedly justified the United States starting a war against Iran. Israel was planning an attack on Iran, which would have caused Iran to attack US assets in the region and would have required the US government to launch a pre-emptive strike against Iran.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has sought to retract the claims made by several officials in recent days, but the claims continue to cause disappointment across the political spectrum.
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Mr. Rubio’s comments were particularly notable given the assessment by many Iranian analysts that the U.S.-Israel war, which led to regional retaliation from Iran, served the interests of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, not Washington.
The US government is considered to have tremendous influence over Israel, providing more than $300 billion in military aid to Israel since 1948, including $21 billion during Israel’s massacre in Gaza.
Asked about Rubio’s comments on Tuesday, Trump appeared to give a different characterization, saying he started the war because “I thought we were going to be attacked.”
“They (Iran) were preparing to attack Israel. They were going to attack other countries,” he said.
For days since launching the first strikes on Saturday, the US president has argued that the overall threat posed by Iran justifies US and Israeli attacks, a position that experts say likely violates both US and international law. The administration has provided little evidence that attacks on U.S. assets are planned or that Iran’s nuclear and ballistic programs pose an imminent threat.
Rubio also sought to distance himself from his comments Monday, claiming his words were taken out of context.
In earlier comments, Mr. Rubio pointed to the broader threat posed by Iran, including ballistic missile and drone capabilities. But then he turned his attention to his own question: “Why now?”
“We knew there would be action on the Israeli side,” he told reporters. “We knew it would provoke an attack on U.S. forces. We also knew there would be more casualties if we didn’t pre-emptively pursue before U.S. forces launched an attack.”
“A wonderful entrance ceremony”
Tuesday’s change in message is unlikely to assuage condemnation from both Trump’s critics and supporters, including several influential figures in the president’s “Make America Great Again (MAGA)” base.
“I think what he’s basically publicly admitting is that the United States has fallen into a trap with the Israelis,” Kelly Grieco, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center, told Al Jazeera.
“The idea that we had to do it because Israel was going to do it anyway. If that’s the case, there should be a very serious conversation here in the United States about American and Israeli interests and where they align and where they diverge,” Grieco said.
In a post about X, Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, asked, “Why is it in America’s interest to arm and finance Israel to draw America into an unnecessary war?”
In a previous post, he said Rubio’s logic “doesn’t even come close to a legal basis” for starting a war.
Meanwhile, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called Rubio’s words Monday a “stunning confession.”
The newspaper said in a statement that Rubio had made it clear: “The United States did not attack Iran because it posed an imminent threat to our country; we did so under pressure from Israel in Israel’s interests.”
The group called on Congress to pass a war powers resolution to curb President Trump’s ability to wage war.
The upcoming war superpower vote
Lawmakers have promised to introduce the bill in both chambers this week, but it will likely face stiff opposition from Republicans.
President Trump’s party holds slim majorities in both chambers of Congress, and many Republicans have rallied behind the war and the administration’s reasons for launching the attack.
Supporters have long argued that the War Powers Resolution, which requires a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override a presidential veto, gives lawmakers an opportunity to put their positions on the record.
In a statement Tuesday, progressive U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders was among the lawmakers who condemned the administration’s war.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu wanted war with Iran, and President Trump just allowed it to happen,” Sanders said.
For more than two decades, the Israeli prime minister has called for the overthrow of the Iranian government and directly opposed diplomacy related to Iran’s nuclear program.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Netanyahu has repeatedly asserted that Iran is on the brink of developing nuclear weapons.
“America’s foreign and military policy must be determined by the American people,” Sanders wrote. “This is not the right-wing extremist Netanyahu government.”
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, who has been at the forefront of the push for warring powers, linked Rubio’s remarks to Trump’s “America First” pledge to prioritize America’s domestic issues.
“Before it’s over, prices for gas, food and pretty much everything else will go up,” Massey posted on X. “The only winners[in the US]are defense company shareholders.”
“The worst thing he could have said.”
Several prominent members of President Trump’s MAGA base said Rubio’s comments were further fueling growing discontent with the war.
Daily Wire podcaster Matt Walsh said Rubio “blatantly said we’re at war with Iran because of Israel’s hand on us. That’s basically the worst thing he’s ever said.”
In response to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson’s reiteration of Rubio’s claims, former congressman and Trump attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz said, “When you make these statements that are undeniably true, America looks like such a supplicant.”
Pro-Trump brothers Keith and Kevin Hodge, who run the influential pro-Trump X account “Hodge Twins” with 3.5 million followers, also condemned the administration’s actions.
“We did not vote to send Americans to die for Israel’s wars,” they posted on Tuesday. “We will not be silent on this matter.”
Ali Harb contributed reporting.
