US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has defended Washington’s decision to strike Iranian targets, describing the attacks as a preemptive move to protect American forces from what he called an “imminent threat,” and warning that “the hardest hits are yet to come from the US military.”
“There absolutely was an imminent threat,” Rubio told reporters in Washington on March 2. Speaking on Capitol Hill before a closed-door briefing with lawmakers, he described the strikes as both a response to an “imminent threat” and a pre-emptive move.
“We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces,” Rubio said. “If we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties. This had to happen, no matter what.”
Responding to Rubio’s statement, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on March 3 that the US Secretary of State’s comments showed that the US “entered a war of choice on behalf of Israel.”
The United States and Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Iran on February 28, targeting what officials described as missile sites and military infrastructure. The strikes marked one of the most direct confrontations between Washington and Tehran in years and immediately triggered a regional escalation.
Iran responded by firing missiles at US bases in several Persian Gulf states, widening the conflict beyond Israeli-Iranian hostilities and raising fears of a broader regional war. US military officials said American air defenses intercepted many incoming projectiles, though some bases reported damage and casualties.
President Donald Trump signaled that further action could follow. In remarks to US media, Trump warned that a “big wave” of attacks was still ahead, suggesting that the weekend strikes were only the beginning of a sustained campaign aimed at degrading Iran’s military capabilities.
