Marco Rubio has sparked fury after suggesting that the US was forced into attacking Iran after being told Israel planned to launch strikes first.
Joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday triggered mayhem in the region, with several Gulf countries being hit by Iranian retaliatory attacks.
At least 555 people have been killed in Iran since the war began, while six US service members have died.
Mr Rubio said President Donald Trump was forced into a preemptive response after learning of an imminent Israeli attack, as officials knew such an attack would trigger retaliation against US military personnel in the Middle East.
“It was abundantly clear that if Iran came under attack by anyone – the United States or Israel or anyone – they were going to respond, and respond against the United States,” the secretary of state told reporters at the Capitol on Monday.
“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.”
The US on Tuesday ordered non-emergency government personnel and their family members to leave Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq and Jordan and closed several diplomatic missions across the region as tensions with Iran escalated.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday claimed that Israel and the US were attempting to “save the world” through their war on Iran.
“You see the difference. The tyrants of Tehran are attacking civilians. We are attacking the tyrants of Tehran to protect the civilian population,” he told reporters on a visit to Beit Shemesh, where nine Israelis were killed by an Iranian missile strike.
The extent of America’s military cooperation with Israel has proved a divisive issue for Trump among his MAGA base. In June last year, Trump’s decision to launch a bombing campaign against Iran’s nuclear facilities sparked a backlash from some Conservative commentators, who argued that the US should not be involved in wars in the region.
Mr Rubio’s comments provoked a significant backlash from American politicians.
“There was no imminent threat to the United States of America by the Iranians,” said Mark Warner, the Democratic vice-chair of the Senate intelligence committee.
“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.”
Democratic congressman Joaquin Castro wrote: “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.”
Domestic polls suggest that Trump’s decision to attack Iran is not popular with Americans. According to a survey by CNN, 60% of Americans fear that Trump does not have a clear plan for handling the situation and almost a third (62%) believe he should get congressional approval for any further military action.
US secretary of war Pete Hegseth said at a press conference on Monday afternoon that there would be “no more stupid rules of engagement”.
“No stupid rules of engagement, no nation-building quagmire, no democracy-building exercise, no politically-correct wars. We fight to win,” he said.
Mr Hegseth reiterated the Trump administration’s justification for the war, insisting they had taken the action in order to “finish” what Iran had started.
The killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has prompted attacks by Hezbollah in Lebanon, who have promised to avenge the death of the Iranian leader. Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon have killed at least 31 people.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked President Trump for his support in trying to “save the world” by trying to defeat Iran.
