Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement in response to Israel launching strikes against Iran, and confirmed that the United States is “not involved in” the strikes.
“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran,” Rubio said. “We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region. Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense.”
Rubio added that President Donald Trump and his administration “have taken all necessary steps to protect” U.S. forces.
“President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners,” Rubio said. “Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel.”
Rubio’s statement came after reports surfaced that Israel had launched strikes against Iran.
In a video posted to X, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin explained that over the past couple of months, “intelligence has shown that Iran is closer than ever to obtaining a nuclear weapon.”
Defrin added that, “This morning,” Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “began preemptive and precise strikes, targeting the Iranian nuclear program.”
“For years the Iranian regime has called for the destruction of the State of Israel, planning and advancing concrete military plans to do so,” Defrin said. “Over the past few months, intelligence has shown that Iran is closer than ever to obtaining a nuclear weapon. This morning, the IDF began preemptive and precise strikes, targeting the Iranian nuclear program in order to prevent the Iranian regime’s ability to build a nuclear bomb in the immediate time frame.”
Breitbart News previously reported that Trump had stated earlier on Thursday that he did not want Israel to launch an attack on Iran if a possible deal could be reached with Iran regarding its nuclear program:
Fox News’s Peter Doocy asked Trump if he was trying to talk Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu out of potentially preparing for a possible attack on Iran, or if he was okay with it.
“Yeah, it’s a very fair question. Look, I want to have an agreement with Iran … We’re fairly close to a pretty good agreement. It’s got to be better than pretty good, though … I’d much prefer an agreement,” Trump said.
Breitbart News also reported that the U.S. was evacuating some diplomatic staff from the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, and the family members and dependents of U.S. diplomats in Bahrain would also be allowed to evacuate.
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