US Secretary of State Rubio says strikes on Iran were carried after Israeli influence
Washington DC: Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State has reportedly suggested that the planned Israeli attack on Iran influenced the timing of Washington’s military action against the government in Tehran.
According to a report by Al Jazeera, speaking to reporters on Monday after briefing congressional leaders, Rubio said that the United States was aware that Israel was going to carry out an attack on Iran.
He stated that Washington expected Tehran to respond by targeting American bases in the region, and therefore US forces acted before such retaliation could take place.
“We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action,” Rubio said after the briefing.
“We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didn’t pre-emptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties," Rubio was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera.
His remarks came just minutes before the US military confirmed that the American death toll in the conflict had risen to six. The confirmation came after two bodies were recovered from a regional facility that had been struck by Iran.
Tehran had reportedly launched drone and missile attacks across the region in response to joint US-Israeli strikes. Those earlier strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, several top officials and hundreds of civilians.
Iranian retaliation included attacks on US bases and assets in the Gulf, the report added.
Rubio said on Monday that even though the United States and Israel attacked first, Washington’s action was meant to stop what he described as an immediate threat, as Israel was going to strike Iran on its own, anyway.
According to Al Jazeera, Israel is a close US ally and has received at least 21bn dollars in military aid from Washington since 2023.
“There absolutely was an imminent threat,” Rubio said.
“And the imminent threat was that we knew that if Iran was attacked – and we believed they would be attacked – that they would immediately come after us,” he added.
According to the report, his assertion pointed to Israel’s role in the events that led to the war with Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has for years called for action against Tehran.
On Sunday, Netanyahu said that the attacks on Iran were being carried out with the help of the “friend”, US President Donald Trump.
“This coalition of forces allows us to do what I have yearned to do for 40 years,” the Israeli prime minister reportedly stated in a video message.
Rubio also said that action against Iran was necessary because Tehran was building up missiles and drones. He said these weapons would have been used to protect Iran’s nuclear programme and to obtain a nuclear bomb.
The United States and Israel began the war less than 48 hours after a round of talks between American and Iranian officials regarding Tehran’s nuclear programme, the report added.
Rubio stated that the aim of the war is to destroy Iran’s missile and drone programmes. At the same time, he said the US would welcome a change in Iran’s governing system.
“We would not be heartbroken, and we hope that the Iranian people can overthrow this government and establish a new future for that country. We would love for that to be possible,” he added.
Later on Monday, Washington issued an advisory urging US citizens in more than a dozen countries in the Middle East to leave immediately. The countries mentioned included Gulf Cooperation Council nations, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
The advisory cited increasing unrest and threats in the region.
The State Department “urges Americans to DEPART NOW from the countries below using available commercial transportation, due to serious safety risks”, US official Mora Namdar reportedly said on X.
The @SecRubio @StateDept urges Americans to DEPART NOW from the countries below using available commercial transportation, due to serious safety risks. Americans who need State Department assistance arranging to depart via commercial means, CALL US 24/7 at +1-202-501-4444 (from… pic.twitter.com/vdplAik2Sq
— Assistant Secretary Mora Namdar (@AsstSecStateCA) March 2, 2026
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Shivakumar urges centre to intervene on Alamatti dam height issue
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday urged the Centre to intervene and allow Karnataka to raise the height of the Almatti dam across the Krishna river.
He also said that he will lead an all-party delegation to Delhi in this regard.
Noting that all three states -- Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra -- have opposed the project, he said the Andhra Pradesh government has asked the Centre not to allow Karnataka acquire land for the proposed project to increase the dam's height from 519 meters to 524 meters.
"Andhra Pradesh government has written to the Centre asking it to refrain from giving any approval or gazette notification that allows Karnataka to carry out land acquisition for the proposed project stating the matter is pending before the Supreme Court," Shivakumar, who is also the state's water resources minister said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, the Union Water Resources Secretary has sought Karnataka's response. "We will reply to it after consulting legal experts."
"I did not expect Andhra Pradesh to react this way. (Andhra Pradesh CM) Chandrababu Naidu is an experienced politician; he is aware of everything, but they are now putting such pressure on the centre. I'm unable to understand this," he said.
Noting that the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II (KWDT-II) award permitted Karnataka to raise the dam to 524 metres and that there was no stay from the Supreme Court, the Deputy CM said and appealed to the Centre to act in accordance with earlier orders.
He also appealed to all the parliament members of Karnataka to put pressure on the central government in this regard, in the interest of the state.
"I will be sending all the details and records to our MPs; we need to build pressure on the centre, Prime Minister and the Union Jal Shakti minister on the issue when the Parliament session begins on March 10," he said, adding that he also plans to lead an all-party delegation to Delhi in this regard.
Pointing out that the Karnataka cabinet, on September 16, 2025, decided to acquire 1.33 lakh acres of land for this project in one go, through consent acquisition, and planned to allocate Rs 70,000 crore for land acquisition in three phases, Shivakumar said, adding, "Now obstacles are being caused to it."
Further delays would escalate costs, he said, as land compensation has become a major burden, with courts awarding higher payouts after farmers rejected earlier offers of Rs 8-9 lakh per acre during the previous BJP government.
"After deliberations, compensation is fixed in the range of Rs 35-40 lakh per acre, with some awards reaching Rs 10 crore because of litigations," he said, adding that around Rs 20,000 crore has already been spent on the project.
Asserting that it is "our water, our land", Shivakumar said, "I appeal to Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra not to interfere in this project; it is not good for you."
