Posted on 03/03/2026 11:16:14 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
The US launched preemptive strikes against Iran after learning Israel was about to attack — and American troops in the region faced an imminent threat of retaliation, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday.
Rubio made the revelation on Capitol Hill, where he briefed a small group of congressional leaders on the joint US-Israel offensive.
'There absolutely was an imminent threat,' Rubio stated. '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, and we were not going to sit there and absorb a blow before we responded.'
Rubio said the Department of War determined that a defensive posture following an Israeli attack would only open the US to more casualties. Five American soldiers have died so far in combat.
'We went proactively in a defensive way to prevent them from inflicting higher damage,' he said.
'Had we not done so, there would have been hearings on Capitol Hill about how we knew that this was going to happen, and we didn't act preemptively to prevent more casualties and more loss of life,' Rubio explained.
The revelation outraged both Democrats and Republicans.
'Secretary Rubio's remarks indicate that Israel put U.S. forces in harm's way by insisting on attacking Iran,' Congressman Joaquin Castro reacted on X. 'And the administration was complicit—joining their war instead of talking them down.'
Conservative pundit Matt Walsh wrote: 'So he's flat out telling us that we're in a war with Iran because Israel forced our hand. This is basically the worst possible thing he could have said.'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
Ah, the Daily Fail.
How did I know without looking...
Riiiiiight.
IMO-—IRAN FORCED THE ENTIRE WORLD INTO THIS CONFLICT
Absolutely did not happen that way. The DM twisted what Rubio said, perhaps put words in his mouth.
Obviously, with all the U.S. forces there already, Trump was totally ready to give the attack order. Only the timing may have been in question.
Iran had already said several times that they were about to launch a preemptive attack.
Why do you post this effinn bullsh*t?? Is that you, Cucker?
'There absolutely was an imminent threat,' Rubio stated. '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, and we were not going to sit there and absorb a blow before we responded.'
The Daily Mail is wrong: there is no “fury” except for performative rage being acted out by those trying to undermine President Trump and MAGA.
The first hour of the war killed 49 Iranian leaders. That makes it pretty obvious it was timed to kill the maximum amount of their leadership. They were probably meeting to debate how to strike first. Now they get to join Mad Moe in Hell.
I didn’t get a harumph out of that guy !
Trump tried to walk it back today, but honestly, they've told so many stories about how and why this thing started I don't think anybody believes anything they say anymore
You are correct. This has been coming for a long time. And we spent two months assembling our forces in the region. Iran has been trying to bring on the Apocalypse for nearly 50 years. They’re getting the worst of it (probably not what they had in mind).
Accurate quotes become inaccurate if Freepers don’t like them.
You should know that by now.
Lol.
THe Daily Markle or aka Daily Smear
a Left Wing Socialist RAG sill pissed
Melania won million against the Leftist Lie machine
just Makes crap up .
Matt Walsh. I’m trying to think of anyone presumed to be conservative who is more negative…Nop. I can’t.
Fake News.
Since when have real words been quoted with single quotes (‘)?
Single quotes are used for the author’s rewording of the real words.
Lame.
Yep
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.