New Delhi: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters after a Congressional briefing that one of the key reasons Washington deemed its strike on Iran necessary was its prior knowledge of an impending Israeli action.
He said the US anticipated that such a move would provoke retaliatory attacks against American forces and believed that failing to act pre-emptively would have resulted in heavier US casualties.
According to Al Jazeera, Rubio’s remarks came shortly before the US military confirmed that its death toll in the conflict had risen to six, following the recovery of two bodies from a regional facility that had been struck by Iran.
Rubio maintained that there had been an imminent threat, arguing that US intelligence assessments indicated Iran would quickly target American forces if it came under attack. He suggested that this expectation formed the basis for the joint US-Israel decision to strike first.
However, his comments drew criticism over what qualifies as an “imminent threat.” Iran’s foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, responded by asserting that Rubio’s own statements demonstrated there had been no direct Iranian threat to the United States. Araghchi contended that Washington had entered what he described as a war of choice in support of Israel, and he argued that responsibility for the resulting bloodshed lay with those prioritising Israeli interests, the Wire reported.
Araghchi also criticised appeals by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urging Iranians to rise up against their government, saying that the American public deserved better leadership and should reclaim control of their country.
Meanwhile, The Guardian reported that Senator Mark Warner, the Democratic vice-chair of the Senate intelligence committee, expressed concern that the United States risked being drawn into a broader conflict at Israel’s behest.
He reportedly said there had been no imminent threat to the US from Iran, although there had been one to Israel, and warned that equating threats to Israel with direct threats to the United States would push US policy into unfamiliar territory.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer was also quoted as describing the conflict as a war of choice initiated by Trump, and criticised the administration for lacking a clear strategy or endgame.
The conflict, triggered by US-Israel strikes on Iran and the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader, has since engulfed much of West Asia. US diplomatic missions in the region have reportedly been scaling down operations and advising American citizens to leave.