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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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
