Israel launched what it described as a “preemptive strike” on Iran on Thursday obliterating hopes for President Donald Trump’s latest round of nuclear talks with Tehran.
State Secretary Marco Rubio made an unusually strong statement distancing the U.S. from the attack, which Trump had explicitly warned against earlier this week.
“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” he said in a statement. “Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel.”
The White House would have been advised of the attacks in advance but usually only signal that they were not directly involved in Israeli military attacks.
Sounds of explosions were heard in and around Tehran, according to Iranian state media outlet IRNA. Air raid sirens also went off in Tel Aviv following the defense minister’s announcement, reported ABC News.
“Following the State of Israel’s preemptive strike against Iran, a missile and drone attack against the State of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate future,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said he was at the embassy in Jerusalem “closely following the situation.”
“We will remain here all night. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!” he said in an X post.
Earlier on Thursday, President Donald Trump said an Israeli attack on Iran was likely to happen.
“I don’t want to say imminent, but it’s something that could very well happen,” he told reporters at the White House.
Trump also wrote in a Truth Social post that the U.S. remained committed to a “diplomatic resolution” to the tensions between the two countries.
“My entire Administration has been directed to negotiate with Iran,” he said. “They could be a Great Country, but they first must completely give up hopes of obtaining a Nuclear Weapon.”
Senior U.S. officials told CNN that they have become increasingly concerned about an Israeli strike on Iran in recent days after Tehran said it would scale up its nuclear activities in response to a United Nations watchdog ruling that it failed to comply with its nuclear obligations.
The State Department urged U.S. citizens in Israel and the broader region to take caution.
“Due to high tensions in the Middle East, the security environment remains complex and can change quickly,” it said.
On Wednesday, Trump confirmed that U.S. personnel were being moved out of parts of the Middle East.
“They are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place, and we’ll see what happens,” he said. “We’ve given notice to move out. We’ll see what happens.”
