Rubio claim of Israeli role in US Iran attack reverberates, despite denial

"Secretary of State Marco Rubio provided a looping justification for the US launching a war against Iran: Israel was planning to strike Iran, which would have prompted Tehran to strike the US assets in the region, requiring Washington to launch preemptive strikes on Iran."

"Rubio's statement was particularly notable, given the assessment by many Iran analysts that the US-Israel war, which has led to regional retaliation from Iran, serves the interests not of Washington, but of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Washington is seen as having outsized leverage over Israel, to which it has provided more than $300bn in military aid since 1948."

"The US president has spent the days since launching the initial strikes on Saturday arguing that the holistic threat posed by Iran justified the US-Israeli strikes, a position that experts say likely stands in contravention of both US and international law. The administration has provided scant evidence of a planned attack on US assets."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio justified US military strikes against Iran by arguing that Israel planned to strike Iran, which would prompt Iranian retaliation against US assets, necessitating preemptive American action. President Trump offered a different rationale, citing Iran's alleged preparations to attack Israel and others. The administration has struggled to maintain consistent messaging, with officials attempting to distance themselves from previous statements. Analysts note the strikes appear to serve Israeli interests rather than American security, particularly given the $300 billion in US military aid provided to Israel since 1948. The administration has provided limited evidence of imminent Iranian threats to US assets or immediate danger from Iran's nuclear or ballistic programs, raising questions about the legal justification for military action.

Read at www.aljazeera.com