Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that there was an "absolutely imminent threat" from Iran and defended the decision to take preventive action to avoid further American casualties.
In statements provided to Fox News, Rubio explained that intelligence assessments indicated that if Iran were attacked, it would immediately respond against U.S. interests and forces.
"We knew that if Iran were attacked, and we believed it was going to be attacked, they would immediately come against us, and we were not going to sit back and wait to be hit before responding," he noted.
The head of U.S. diplomacy stated that the action was taken proactively and defensively to prevent further damage.
According to him, had action not been taken, the country would have faced a situation with more victims and subsequently questions in the Capitol about why a timely decision was not made to prevent human losses.
Rubio stated that the objective of the mission was not a regime change, but rather the destruction of Iran's ballistic and naval capabilities.
However, he expressed that he hopes the Iranian people can overthrow their government.
"We would love for that to be possible," he remarked, although he emphasized that it was not the direct goal of the operation.
The Secretary of State insisted that the decision was made to prevent a scenario in which American forces could suffer additional casualties, especially given the possibility of an Israeli action that could trigger retaliations against U.S. military personnel.
According to Rubio, failing to act would have meant facing more serious consequences.
President Donald Trump declared that Operation Epic Fury, the joint military campaign of the United States and Israel against Iran, could last "four weeks or less", and in other statements extended that timeframe to "five weeks."
The operation, launched on February 28, 2026, continues to progress into its third day with a toll of hundreds of deaths and an unprecedented regional escalation.
Trump described the offensive as "one of the most complex and overwhelming military offensives that the world has ever seen" and stated that it will continue "until all our objectives are achieved."
At the same time, he noted that he could "finish this in two or three days" if he decided to step back, but he made it clear that he will not do so.
Similarly, he suggested replicating in Iran the political transition model implemented in Venezuela, describing the Venezuelan operation as "the perfect scenario, the perfect one" and proposing that model as a roadmap for Iran following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
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