President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have provided conflicting reasons for the United States entering the war with Iran, amid heavy criticism from both Democrats and conservative groups supporting Trump, who call it a "self-chosen war" that may be manipulated by Israel.
President Donald Trump faces fresh pressure to explain why he ordered U.S. forces to join Israel in attacking Iran on 28 Feb. His latest statements contradict those given by Secretary of State Marco Rubio just one day earlier.
On Monday (2 Mar), Marco Rubio said the U.S. had to strike first out of fear that Iran would retaliate against Israel, which was already planning an attack on Iran. "We know Israel will act, and that will provoke Iran to attack American forces. If we don't strike first, we will lose more personnel," he said.
However, on Tuesday (3 Mar), during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office, President Trump denied that Israel pressured the U.S., stating it was his own belief that Iran was going to attack first. "I might even be pressuring them (Israel)... In my view, those crazy people (Iran) are going to start attacking us first. If we don't do it, they will anyway. I firmly believe that," Trump said.
The government's conflicting information has led Trump supporters to express discontent. Notably, analyst Matt Walsh questioned whether the U.S. is entering war solely because of Israeli pressure. Meanwhile, Meghan Kelly stated that the U.S. government's duty is to protect Americans, not Iran or Israel, and that this conflict appears to be clearly "Israel's war."
Senior government officials revealed that before the attack, U.S. Special Representative Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner attempted negotiations in Geneva with Iran to halt uranium enrichment, but Iran proposed increasing enrichment levels further. The U.S. viewed this as a stalling tactic aimed at developing nuclear weapons.
Although representatives reported to Trump that a nuclear deal similar to the 2015 Obama administration agreement might be possible, it would take several more months. Trump therefore decided to order the strike the very next day.
Currently, the White House is rushing to conduct "damage control" to manage confidence amid ongoing air battles between U.S.-Israeli and Iranian forces, which have entered their fourth day. Iran continues to insist that the U.S. attack was unprovoked.