US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on 2 March that the US struck Iran first because Israeli action was expected to prompt an Iranian attack on American forces.
Mr Rubio spoke to reporters on Capitol Hill before briefing the Gang of Eight, the four top congressional leaders plus the chairs of the House and Senate intelligence committees, according to ABC News.
He said the US knew Israel was going to act against Iran, and believed this would lead Iran to attack American forces. He said the US therefore struck first to avoid suffering higher casualties, according to a report by the AFP news agency carried by Gulf News.
Mr Rubio was asked whether there had been an imminent threat. The question matters legally because Congress holds the power to declare war. He pointed to the expected Israeli action and said: "There absolutely was an imminent threat."
He said Iran's orders to field commanders had been to respond automatically to any attack. In his account, Iran's quick retaliation showed this, and its missiles had been positioned in advance. No independent confirmation of that claim was seen.
Mr Rubio said that if the US had waited for an Iranian attack before hitting back, it would have suffered much higher casualties. He described the US action as defensive and aimed at preventing Iran from inflicting serious damage.
CNBC reported that Mr Rubio also said the hardest hits were yet to come, and that the next phase of the operation would be even more punishing.
House Speaker Mike Johnson backed Mr Rubio's reasoning after the briefing, ABC News reported. He said the consequences of inaction by the US could have been devastating.
Democratic Representative Joaquin Castro said the comments indicated that Israel had put US forces in harm's way, according to the AFP report. The extract seen by this site was cut off, so his full wording is not given here.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded on social media. He said Mr Rubio had admitted what everyone already knew, and that the US had entered a "war of choice" on behalf of Israel, according to the Jerusalem Post.
The Times of Israel described the remarks as showing that the US had intelligence that its assets would be targeted in response to an Israeli attack. It said Mr Rubio later stressed that the joint attack needed to happen in any case.
The newspaper also noted that Israel was seen as unlikely to have acted without the approval of US President Donald Trump. That was the outlet's own assessment, and no confirmation was included in the report.
Al Jazeera reported that the administration had provided little evidence of a planned attack on US assets, or of an immediate threat from Iran's nuclear or missile programmes.
ABC News described Mr Rubio's explanation as new. It said Mr Trump had previously cited a broader imminent threat from Iran as the reason for the strikes.
The US military confirmed minutes later that its death toll had risen to six, according to Al Jazeera. Two bodies were recovered from a regional facility that Iran had struck.
The US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on 28 February, according to Al Jazeera and NPR. Israel's defence ministry called its action a preemptive strike.
Iran's state media confirmed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, was killed. Mr Trump also confirmed his death, and Iran announced 40 days of mourning.
Iran responded with drone and missile launches across the region, including at US bases in the Gulf, Al Jazeera reported.
On 1 March, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacks were taking place with the help of his friend Mr Trump, according to Al Jazeera.
The two countries had acted against Iran before. On 12 and 13 June 2025, Israel struck Iranian nuclear and missile sites. Mr Rubio said at the time that the US was not involved in strikes against Iran, according to a Fox News report.
The US Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war. Democrats complained that Mr Trump did not seek its approval before the strikes, according to CNBC and AFP.
Congressional staff were briefed over the weekend, according to the White House. A briefing for all of Congress was scheduled for Tuesday 3 March, with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth among those due to take part.
Photo: U.S. Department of State / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
