Iran says Rubio admitted US entered “war of choice” for Israel

09:20

By: Dakir Madiha

Iran says Rubio admitted US entered “war of choice” for Israel

Iran said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio effectively acknowledged that Washington joined a voluntary conflict on Israel’s behalf after he defended the joint American Israeli military operation against Iran during remarks at the U.S. Capitol.

Speaking before a closed door briefing with lawmakers on March 2, Rubio said the United States acted preemptively after learning that Israel was preparing strikes against Tehran and assessing that Iran would immediately retaliate against U.S. forces in the region.

“We knew there would be Israeli action. We knew it would trigger attacks on U.S. forces,” Rubio told reporters, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. He said waiting for Iran to strike first would have resulted in significantly higher American casualties.

“If we had not attacked them preemptively before they launched those attacks, we would have suffered heavier losses. This was going to happen no matter what,” Rubio said.

Rubio added that Iranian military units had already positioned forces and delegated launch authority to field commanders, making retaliation likely once the first strikes began. He defended the decision by the U.S. president to act immediately rather than absorb an initial attack, warning that the most severe military responses could still come from U.S. forces.

While acknowledging that Washington would welcome political change in Iran, Rubio said the main objective of the operation was not regime change but the destruction of Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities.

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi responded sharply on March 3 in a message posted on X, accusing Washington of entering a voluntary war for Israel. “Mr. Rubio admitted what we all knew: the United States has entered a war of choice on behalf of Israel,” Araghchi wrote. “There was never an Iranian ‘threat.’”

He added that responsibility for casualties on both sides rests with those who prioritize Israel’s interests. Araghchi urged Americans to challenge their government’s policy toward the conflict.

The Iranian Red Crescent reported 555 deaths from the ongoing attacks, including 165 schoolgirls. According to reports cited by Yeni Şafak, six U.S. service members have been killed and several others wounded in retaliatory strikes.

Al Jazeera reported that the U.S. administration has provided limited evidence publicly to support its claim that Iran posed an imminent threat before the strikes.

The conflict expanded rapidly after coordinated attacks began on February 28. Israeli airstrikes and U.S. Tomahawk missile launches targeted more than 1,000 locations during the first 24 hours of the operation.

Tehran responded with missile and drone strikes aimed at U.S. related sites across the Gulf region. Authorities in Bahrain and Qatar said they intercepted more than 170 incoming projectiles.

The BBC reported that Iran closed its airspace until further notice as the confrontation intensified. Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department urged American citizens to leave the Middle East immediately amid escalating regional tensions.