Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated the U.S. was compelled into war with Iran due to Israeli actions, arguing that pre-empting an anticipated attack was necessary to avoid higher American casualties. His comments underscore the Trump administration's alignment with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who claimed the operations were conducted with U.S. assistance and fulfilled a long-term goal.
Critics, including a former State Department lawyer, argue the U.S. had significant leverage through military aid to restrain Israel and suggest Rubio's explanation serves as a cover for the administration's own militaristic preferences. The conflict has resulted in significant casualties in Iran and losses for U.S. personnel, prompting congressional Democrats to demand legal justifications and clear objectives from the administration.
The main topics covered are the U.S.-Israel alliance and shared military action against Iran, the debate over U.S. leverage and responsibility in the conflict, and the resulting human and political consequences.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio admitted that the U.S. was forced into the war with Iran by Israel while speaking with reporters on Monday. He explained that the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had effectively boxed in the Trump administration, taking the decision out of American hands.
“We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action,” Rubio explained. “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’s disclosure highlights the Trump administration’s unwillingness to rein in the actions of Israel, even when that country’s policies resulted in U.S. attacks that only a tiny minority of the American public supports.
On Sunday, Netanyahu said the attacks on Iran were being conducted with “the assistance of the United States, my friend, U.S. President Donald Trump, and the U.S. military.” He described how the second U.S.–Israeli war with Iran in less than a year was something he had been fomenting for decades. “This coalition of forces allows us to do what I have yearned to do for 40 years. … This is what I promised — and this is what we shall do.”
Brian Finucane, a former State Department lawyer and expert in counterterrorism and the laws of war, suggested the secretary of state was using Israel as a convenient cover for Trump’s own desire for war — illustrated by Trump’s prior willingness to attack Venezuela and capture its president, Nicolás Maduro. Israel relies on U.S. military aid, which Trump could have used as leverage to pressure Netanyahu, Finucane said.
“The U.S. likely could have prevented Israel from attacking Iran if it really wanted to,” Finucane, currently a senior adviser with the International Crisis Group, told The Intercept.
Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023, the U.S. government has spent $21.7 billion on military aid to Israel, according to Brown University’s Costs of War Project. Israel has also been the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid since its founding, receiving more than $300 billion in total assistance.
U.S.–Israeli strikes have killed at least 555 people in Iran and wounded hundreds more, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society. This includes more than 165 people killed in an attack on an elementary school. On Monday, Central Command announced six U.S. military personnel had been killed in action, including two troops who were previously unaccounted for.
Democratic leadership, including Reps. Gregory Meeks, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Adam Smith, the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to Rubio and top Trump administration officials on Monday, ahead of Tuesday briefings. They called for the administration’s legal justification for initiating hostilities, U.S. objectives, and “what conditions would constitute mission success, and under what circumstances would operations cease.”
The State Department did not respond to request for comment by The Intercept on Rubio’s claims that Israel was effectively dictating U.S. war policy and whether it would continue to exert undue influence going forward.
“The U.S. retains leverage over Israel and, if it really wanted to, may be able to compel Israel to cease its military operations,” said Finucane. “But whether Iran is ready to cease hostilities is a separate matter.”
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I’M BEN MUESSIG, The Intercept’s editor-in-chief. It’s been a devastating year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.
We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.
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