Rubio says US attacking Iran was proactive measure for own protection

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday said that Washington’s attacks on Iran were a proactive measure for the United States’ own protection ahead of an “imminent threat.”

“There absolutely was an imminent threat, and 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 in Washington.

Rubio said that the US did not want to stand idly by and take a hit before striking back themselves.

“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,” Rubio said, adding: “This had to happen, no matter what.”

The United States and Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Iran on Saturday, sparking a regional escalation as Tehran fired missiles at US bases in several Gulf states.