US strikes on Iran were triggered by Israel’s planned attack, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said the Trump administration acted to prevent Iranian retaliation. The administration’s rationale for entering the conflict has drawn sharp criticism from members of Congress, with lawmakers divided over the justification for the military campaign.

Origins of the Conflict

Rubio, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and Joint Chiefs of Staff chair Dan Caine provided a classified briefing to top members of Congress on Monday evening, the first such briefing since the administration ordered the air campaign to begin over the weekend. The briefing came ahead of a House vote on a war powers resolution, which could force President Donald Trump to end hostilities against Iran.

Rubio told reporters at the Capitol that Israel’s intention to attack Iran and the certainty that US troops would be targeted in response forced the Trump administration to take pre-emptive action. ‘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,’ he said.

Rubio added that the administration knew Israel was planning an attack and that this would lead to Iranian retaliation against US forces. ‘We knew that if we didn’t pre-emptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties,’ he said.

Impact on the Region

Since the conflict began, the United States and Israel have carried out waves of airstrikes across Iran, and Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile attacks against US-aligned countries across the Middle East. The air campaign has killed several of Iran’s top military and political leaders, including the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The US military has acknowledged the deaths of six service members, while the Iranian Red Crescent Society said more than 500 people have been killed in the country. The situation has escalated tensions across the region, with fears of further escalation and a potential wider conflict.

Political Divisions and Concerns

Reactions to the administration’s explanation for entering the war split along party lines, with Republicans rushing to defend Trump’s actions while Democrats condemned what they view as an unnecessary conflict with unclear goals.

‘This is Trump’s war. This is a war of choice. He has no strategy, he has no endgame,’ said Senate Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer before the briefing. Schumer said lawmakers present asked ‘a whole lot of questions’ but found the officials’ responses ‘completely and totally insufficient.’

Mark Warner, the Democratic vicechair of the Senate intelligence committee, expressed concern over the implications of allowing Israel to force the US into a new war. ‘There was no imminent threat to the United States of America by the Iranians. 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,’ Warner said.

In recent interviews, Trump has outlined various goals in the war, including destroying Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities and navy, preventing the country from developing a nuclear weapon, and cutting off Tehran’s support of proxy forces elsewhere in the Middle East. However, Rubio mentioned only two goals: destroying Iran’s ballistic missile capability and their navy.

Following the classified briefing, Warner said he was unsure of Trump’s endgame. ‘I think the president needs to come before the Congress, for that matter, the American people, and decide amongst these four or five goals that have been laid out, what is the real goal?’ the Virginia senator said.

Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House and a close Trump ally, defended the president’s course of action, calling it a ‘defensive operation.’ ‘Israel was determined to act in their own defense here, with or without American support. Why? Because Israel faced what they deem to be an existential threat,’ Johnson said.

While Johnson said the war’s objective was not ‘to go in and take out the regime,’ he welcomed the death of Ayatollah Khamenei, calling it ‘a great development for freedom loving people around the world.’

Trump ordered the attack on Iran without first seeking Congress’ permission, though Rubio said a group of lawmakers known as the Gang of Eight were notified before the attack began. The House is expected to later this week consider a war powers resolution that, if enacted, could force Trump to end hostilities against Iran.

However, the resolution faces a high bar to passage. Republicans control both chambers of Congress, and rarely cross Trump in significant numbers. Even if Congress were to approve the resolution, Trump could veto it, and Congress could override that only with a two-thirds majority vote.

Previous war powers resolutions introduced in this Congress have been voted down, and Johnson said he was confident the latest one would not pass the House. ‘The idea that we would take the ability of our commander in chief, the president, take his authority away right now to finish this job, is a frightening prospect to me. It’s dangerous,’ Johnson said.