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U.S. Struck Iran Based on Intel on Israel Attack Plans, Officials Say

George Caldwell / @GCaldwell_news

George Caldwell is a correspondent for The Daily Signal. Send an email to George.

In a classified briefing Monday on the new military conflict with Iran, top White House cabinet members told congressional stakeholders that the initial American strikes came in response to reports Israel was planning a strike of its own.

The officials suggested concerns over Iran targeting American forces in the region in response to an Israeli strike motivated the administration to act.

“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,” Rubio told reporters ahead of the briefing.

“We were not going to sit there and absorb a blow before we responded,” he continued, “We went proactively in a defensive way to prevent them from inflicting higher damage.”

.@SecRubio: "The president made the very wise decision—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 preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we… pic.twitter.com/Jp5rqpRH4T— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 2, 2026

.@SecRubio: "The president made the very wise decision—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 preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we… pic.twitter.com/Jp5rqpRH4T

U.S. and Israeli forces have coordinated in striking targets across Iran as part of Operation Epic Fury. Iran has retaliated with strikes on Israel and U.S. bases and embassies in nearby countries.

Iran’s leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed during the attack. He had been the country’s supreme leader since 1989.

Six American service members have been killed in action so far, per U.S. Central Command.

Rubio was joined by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine, and Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe in briefing the members.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., leaving the briefing, painted a similar picture of the Pentagon acting early in order to maximize America’s advantage.

“If Israel fired upon Iran… then they would have immediately retaliated against U.S. personnel and assets,” Johnson told reporters. 

“We have troops in harm’s way and we have many Americans in the region and that was a great concern. If we had waited for all of those eventualities to take place, the consequences of inaction on our part would have been… devastating.”

Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, emerged from the briefing also describing Israel as a key player in the drama, but he expressed doubts about an “imminent threat” to America.

“There was no imminent threat to the United States of America by the Iranians,” Warner said. “There was a threat to Israel.”

“This is still a war of choice that… was dictated by Israel’s goals and timelines,” Warner continued. “I stand firmly with Israel, but I believe… when we are talking about putting American soldiers in harm’s way… then there needs to be the proof of an imminent threat to American interests. I still don’t think that standard has been met.”

In both the House and Senate, members have war powers resolutions teed up, which, if signed into law, would restrain the administration’s ability to conduct military operations in Iran. 

The resolutions are unlikely to acquire a veto-proof level of support.

Johnson, asked about the resolution, said the idea of taking Trump’s “authority away right now to finish this job is a frightening prospect to me.”

He added, “It’s dangerous… and I believe we do have the votes to put it down. That’s going to be a good thing for the country and our security and stability.”

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