'Now is the time to go after them': Rubio buries theory that Israel dragged Trump into Iran attack

Marco Rubio dispelled rumors that the United States had been "dragged" into the war against Iran by Israel. Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, the Secretary of State assured that it was President Donald Trump who "made the decision to go after them" so they can never have a nuclear weapon, making the world a safer place in the process.

Last Monday, Rubio was involved in a similar scene, answering questions from a group of reporters in the Congressional buildings. Asked about the choice of timing for "Operation Epic Fury," he noted the following: "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 would suffer higher casualties and perhaps even higher those killed."

That statement went viral on social media by many users who claimed it was evidence that Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister, had convinced Trump to start the attack, having already taken out more than 40 senior Iranian commanders and the supreme leader, Alli Khamenei.

However, within minutes, Rubio made it clear that the operation was not merely an Israeli initiative but a matter of national security for the United States, Israel, and the broader international community.

"That’s the question of why now, but this operation needed to happen because Iran, in about a year or a year and a half, would cross the line of immunity, meaning they would have so many short-range missiles and so many drones that no one could do anything about it because they could hold the whole world hostage. (...) So that had to happen. Obviously, we were aware of Israeli intentions and understood what that would mean for us, and we had to be prepared to act as a result of it. But this had to happen, no matter what," the former Florida senator clarified.

"That's ridiculous": Netanyahu's response to rumors

Hours after Rubio's initial statements, Netanyahu gave an interview to Fox News. Asked about the theory that Israel "dragged" the United States into the conflict, the Israeli prime minister was blunt: "That's ridiculous."

Netanyahu also highlighted Trump's leadership, assuring that "there has never been" a president like him: "His resoluteness, his decisiveness, his clarity of thinking, the way he gets things—gets right to the crux of things. He cuts through all the fluff, cuts to the chase, and gets down to the main point, and it gets down to the mean action that needs to be taken."

"Now is the time to go after them. The president made the decision to go after them"

In an almost carbon copy of Monday's situation, Rubio again spoke to reporters on Capitol Hill about the origin and timing of his choice to attack Iran.

Aiming to clear all possible doubts, the Secretary of State explained step by step the motives and strategic importance of the operation: "Let me explain to you guys this in simple English. OK? Iran is run by lunatics, religious fanatic lunatics. They have an ambition to have nuclear weapons. They intend to develop those nuclear weapons behind a program of missiles and drones and terrorism so that the world will not be able to touch them for fear of those things."

"And this is the weakest they've ever been. Now is the time to go after them. The president made the decision to go after them, take away their missiles, take away their navy, take away their drones, and take away their ability to make those things so that they can never have a nuclear weapon. That's why the president made this decision. It was the right decision, and the world will be a safer place when these radical clerics no longer have access to these weapons. You see how they're using them now. Just second. Imagine how they would use them a year from now if they had more of these," he added.