{"id":1928,"date":"2026-03-04T14:30:56","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T14:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=1928"},"modified":"2026-03-04T14:30:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T14:30:57","slug":"trump-says-us-struck-iran-over-imminent-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=1928","title":{"rendered":"Trump Says US Struck Iran Over Imminent Threat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON:<\/strong> President Donald Trump has said he ordered United States forces to join Israel\u2019s attack on Iran because he believed Tehran was preparing to strike first, offering a justification that differed from the account given a day earlier by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rubio had told reporters that Washington acted out of concern that Iran would retaliate following planned Israeli action against Tehran. \u201cWe knew that there was going to be an Israeli action; we knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces,\u201d he said, adding that preemptive action was necessary to avoid higher casualties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, speaking at the White House during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, President Donald Trump said it was his assessment that Iran was about to launch an attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI felt strongly that if we didn\u2019t act, they were going to attack first,\u201d Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, rejecting suggestions that Israel had pushed the United States into the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iran has described the US assault as unprovoked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The differing explanations have drawn criticism from some conservative commentators and Democrats, who accused the president of initiating a \u201cwar of choice.\u201d Conservative podcaster Matt Walsh wrote on social media that Rubio\u2019s remarks suggested Israel had influenced Washington\u2019s decision. Fellow commentator Megyn Kelly questioned whether the conflict served American interests, stating that the government\u2019s primary responsibility was to the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The criticism comes at a time when the Republican Party is seeking to retain control of Congress in the upcoming midterm elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The debate over the origins of the conflict has prompted the White House to respond publicly. President Trump took questions from reporters on Tuesday for the first time since the US-Israeli air campaign began three days earlier. He had previously addressed the matter through video messages and select interviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump said he believed Iran was on the verge of launching attacks following negotiations held last Thursday in Geneva. Iranian officials had described those talks as positive and indicated further discussions were planned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something that had to be done,\u201d Trump said, without providing detailed evidence to support his assertion that Iran was about to strike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rubio, speaking later on Capitol Hill, reiterated that the president\u2019s decision was aimed at ensuring the United States was not attacked first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two senior administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had engaged Iranian representatives in talks mediated by Oman in Geneva. According to the officials, Washington pressed Tehran to abandon uranium enrichment, but Iran instead proposed continuing enrichment at higher levels at the Tehran Research Reactor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The officials said the US side viewed Iran\u2019s position as a delaying tactic and reported back to the president that reaching a new nuclear agreement, similar to the 2015 accord negotiated under former President Barack Obama, could take months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iran denies seeking to develop a nuclear weapon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the briefing from his envoys, President Trump ordered US forces into action, with strikes commencing on Saturday, marking a significant escalation in tensions in the region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has said he ordered United States forces to join Israel\u2019s attack on Iran because he believed Tehran was preparing to strike first, offering a justification that… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1929,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[100,1425,1500,1146,106,1423],"class_list":["post-1928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-donald-trump","tag-iran-conflict","tag-israel-iran-tensions","tag-marco-rubio","tag-us-foreign-policy","tag-war-against-iran"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump Says US Struck Iran Over Imminent Threat - World Watch Alert<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Trump says US joined Israel\u2019s attack on Iran over fears of imminent Iranian strike, contradicting earlier remarks by Secretary of State\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=1928\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump Says US Struck Iran Over Imminent Threat - 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