Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday evening the U.S. was not involved in Israeli strikes inside Iran in an effort to distance Washington from getting in between the two adversaries.
“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” Rubio said in a statement.
“Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense. President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel,” Rubio added.
The Israeli launch, which targeted Iranian nuclear facilities and military sites, comes as Trump and his administration have been working for weeks to reach a deal with Tehran on a nuclear agreement.
Hours before the strikes in Iran, Trump had cautioned that an Israeli strike on Iranian sites would could threaten the U.S.’s nuclear talks.
“As long as I think there is an agreement, I don’t want them going in because I think that would blow it. Might help it, actually. But also could blow it,” Trump told reporters when asked if he had advised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against firing into Iran.
Trump acknowledged several weeks ago that he had, indeed, warned Netanyahu against taking any action that could threaten talks.
“Well, I’d like to be honest. Yes, I did. Next question, please?” Trump said.
Israel launched the attack overnight, saying it targeted nuclear and military sites. While it was not clear what had been hit in the strikes, The Associated Press reported, smoke was seen in western Tehran.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement it “launched a preemptive, precise, combined offensive to strike Iran’s nuclear program” and that the strikes were “on dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in different areas of Iran.”
“Today, Iran is closer than ever to obtaining a nuclear weapon. Weapons of mass destruction in the hands of the Iranian regime are an existential threat to the State of Israel and to the wider world. The State of Israel has no choice but to fulfill the obligation to act in defense of its citizens and will continue to do so everywhere it is required to do so, as we have done in the past,” the IDF said.
Trump administration officials are expected to meet in the coming day for another round of talks with Iran but it’s unclear if the fresh strikes will impact those talks at all.
The president in May had expressed optimism that a deal was close with Iran, but he has in recent days sounded a more pessimistic note and warned that Iran was getting “more aggressive.”
Trump administration officials said this week it was downsizing its footprint in Iraq, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has greenlighted the departures of military dependents across northeast Africa, the Middle East, and portions of South and Central Asia.
Filip Timotija contributed to this report.
