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Satellite image shows black smoke rising and extensive damage to the compound of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, following attacks by the US and Israel
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the order to attack Iran was issued after it became clear that Israel planned to attack first, making it necessary to disable Tehran’s ability to retaliate.
Israel and the United States launched, on Saturday, a military attack against Iran, to “eliminate imminent threats from the Iranian regime”.
Marco Rubio explained why the US attacked first. According to the US Secretary of State, Washington knew that Israel was preparing to attack Iran and that Tehran would respond by bombing US bases in the Middle East.
“If we had waited for this attack before attacking them, we would have suffered many more casualties“he told reporters before a private meeting with members of Congress to brief them on the operation.
Therefore, he stated, Donald Trump made the “wise decision” to strike first.
Rubio clarified intentions
The head of North American diplomacy also repeatedly stressed that the The United States would like to see the Iranian people overthrow their regime, but that is not the objective of the war.
The objective of the attack on Iran “is to prevent them from using ballistic missiles to threaten their neighbors, our bases and our presence in the region”Rubio pointed out.
“That’s why we’re doing what we’re doing now, and while we would like to see a new regime, the reality is that regardless of who governs that country a year from now, they won’t have these ballistic missiles or these drones to threaten us“, Rubio insisted during the press conference at the Capitol.
The North American official also guaranteed that the “harder blows” of the Pentagon against Iran “still to come” and that the “next phase” of attacks that Washington is preparing “it will be even more severe”.
Rubio added that Don’t know how long the operation will last Epic Furythe joint attack with Israel launched against Iran on Saturday.
“Our objectives are missiles”
“I don’t know how long it will take. We have goals. We will continue as long as it takes to reach them, and we will reach them: the world will be a safer place when we finish this operation“, explained the head of North American diplomacy.
Marco Rubio also stressed that the United States would never deliberately attack a school, after Iran reported attacks on a school and a hospital and the deaths of more than 100 people.
“Our objectives are missilesboth the ability to produce them and the ability to launch them”, he highlighted.
At least 555 people have died in Iran since the attacks began, according to the Iranian Red Crescent humanitarian organization. The United States Army confirmed the deaths of four American soldiers.
US asks citizens to leave 14 countries
The United States Department of State has asked its citizens to immediately leave 14 countries and territories in the Middle East due to “serious risks” to its security, following the war against Iran.
In a statement shared on social media, the State Department recommends “exiting now by commercial means due to serious security risks,” from Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Lebanon, Iran, Oman, Iraq, Qatar, Israel, West Bank and Gaza, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Iran is responding to Operation Epic Fury by launching drones and missiles against US installations in different countries in the Middle East.
In turn, in countries like Iraq, there have been attempts by groups of people to attack the embassy, which forced the police to intervene.
Some United States embassies in the 14 countries and territories mentioned have already published specific messages recommending their citizens to leave as soon as possible.
The US embassy in Lebanon, for example, urges Americans to leave the country “immediately, while commercial flight options are still available” as the security situation “is unstable and unpredictable”.
“We recommend that anyone who decides not to go out [do país] to prepare contingency plans for emergency situations and be prepared to take refuge in place if the situation deteriorates further”, adds the message from the United States representation in Lebanon.
