Israel attacks Iran
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States was not involved in Israel’s “unilateral” strikes against Iran.
Israel on Thursday launched strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear program, ballistic missile program and Iranian nuclear scientists and military commanders.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation, Rising Lion, “will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States was not involved in Israel’s “unilateral” strikes against Iran.
“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran,” Rubio said in a statement. “We are not involved in strikes against Iran, and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region.
“Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for self-defense,” Rubio’s statement continued. “President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contain with our regional partners.
“Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel,” he said.
At about 9:30pm DC time, Israeli and Iranian media reported that Israel was carrying out a second wave of attacks in Iran.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps headquarters building has been targeted, Iran’s state TV reported.
The IRGC reportedly confirmed the killing of IRGC chief Gen. Hossein Salami in an Israeli strike.
Ali Shamkhani, the former Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, has been severely injured in a strike targeting his home, the New York Times reported.
Several Senate Democrats decry Israel’s ‘reckless escalation’
Several senior Senate Democrats expressed alarm with Israel for the escalation and undermining US diplomatic efforts.
Notably, Sen. Jake Reed (D-Rhode Island), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called Israel’s decision to strike Iran a “reckless escalation” that “risks igniting regional violence.”
“These strikes threaten not only the lives of innocent civilians but the stability of the entire Middle East and the safety of American citizens and forces,” Reed said in a statement.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees, said in a statement he did not understand why Israel would launch a preemptive strike “knowing high level diplomatic discussions between the United States and Iran are scheduled for this weekend.”
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had been scheduled to hold a sixth round of nuclear talks in Muscat, Oman, on Sunday.
“Israel's attack on Iran, clearly intended to scuttle the Trump Administration's negotiations with Iran, risks a regional war that will likely be catastrophic for America and is further evidence of how little respect world powers - including our own allies - have for President Trump,” said Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“Netanyahu appears to want to provoke an Iranian counterstrike that draws in U.S. support for further strikes on Iran,” the Arms Control Association’s Daryl Kimball wrote on Twitter.
He urged the U.S. to resist getting sucked in, and Iran from taking the bait.
Developing story.
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