ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday accused Washington of entering a “war of choice” on behalf of Israel, after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States struck Iran preemptively to protect American forces from an anticipated retaliation.
“Mr. Rubio admitted what we all knew: U.S. has entered a war of choice on behalf of Israel. There was never any so-called Iranian ‘threat’,” Araghchi said in a post on X.
“Shedding of both American and Iranian blood is thus on Israel Firsters," Araghchi stated, adding that the American people "deserve better and should take back their country.”
Araghchi’s remarks came after Rubio told reporters Monday that Washington acted after learning Israel was preparing to strike Iranian targets and assessing that Tehran would respond against US forces in the region.
“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.