As the situation in the Middle East intensifies, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revealed why the United States, under the leadership of President Donald Trump, got involved in the Iran war. His comments have drawn heavy backlash, even from the Make America Great Again (MAGA) supporters.
Rubio claimed that Israel planned to launch strikes on Iran first, and the United States was forced to attack the region.
According to The Independent, at least 555 people have been killed since the United States-Israeli joint strikes were launched in Iran on Saturday, February 28. Amongst the significant casualties are Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with top officials of his regime, and six United States service members.
“It was abundantly clear that if Iran came under attack by anyone – the United States, Israel, or anyone – they were going to respond, and respond against the United States,” Rubio told reporters at the Capitol on Monday.
JUST IN:
🇮🇷🇺🇸 Marco Rubio says Iran was a threat because the department of war was sure that Iran that Iran, after being attacked, will attack first
“There was absolutely an imminent threat and it was that we knew that if Iran was attacked and we believe that they would be… pic.twitter.com/UUBEnRDQNk
— Megatron (@Megatron_ron) March 2, 2026
The secretary of state explained, “We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. 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.”
His comments came after the joint United States-Israeli strikes on Iran as part of Operation Epic Fury sparked massive mayhem in the region. In retaliation, Iran has launched attacks on several Gulf countries, targeting the United States military bases in the region.
As the tension escalated, the United States ordered non-emergency government personnel in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq and Jordan to leave immediately.
Meanwhile, Rubio’s comments have irked the critics. Mark Warner, the Democratic vice-chair of the Senate Intelligence committee, said, “There was no imminent threat to the United States of America by the Iranians. There was a threat to Israel. If we equate a threat to Israel as the equivalent of an imminent threat to the United States, then we are in uncharted territory.”
Not just the critics, Trump‘s own MAGA clan is not quite happy with his decision to involve the United States in the war. Tucker Carlson, a conservative political activist, opined that the strikes on Iran are “absolutely disgusting and evil.”
Secretary Rubio’s remarks indicate that Israel put U.S. forces in harm’s way by insisting on attacking Iran. And the administration was complicit—joining their war instead of talking them down
This is unacceptable of the President, and unacceptable of a country that calls itself… https://t.co/Ya6FxmdlwM
— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) March 2, 2026
Meanwhile, podcast host Megyn Kelly, who is known to be a Trump supporter, also said that “no one should have to die for a foreign country,” referring to the deaths of United States service members in the war.
The president himself attempted to respond to the MAGA backlash. He said of Kelly and Carlson, “I think that MAGA is Trump — MAGA’s not the other two.”
“MAGA wants to see our country thrive and be safe. And MAGA loves what I’m doing — every aspect of it… This is a detour that we have to take in order to keep our country safe and keep other countries safe, frankly,” Trump said.
