US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives to brief House and Senate leaders on US military action in Iran, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 2, 2026. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP
The United States attacked Iran only after learning that ally Israel was going to strike and fearing Tehran would retaliate against US forces, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday, March 2.
"We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didn't preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties," Rubio told reporters.
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Airstrikes on Iran: How the US and Israel hope to bring down the regime
