Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
The operation was launched out of fear of Iranian retaliation.
US President Donald Trump said, Operation Epic Fury (the codename for the war on Iran) is to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons, to destroy the Irani ballistic missile capabilites and to cripple its navy, the BBC reported on Monday.
Saturday, the day of the launch of Operation Epic Fury, however, the POTUS also urged the Irani pupolation to “take back” their government.
The aim of keeping Iran from getting nuclear weapons was repeated by vice president, J. D. Vance, in a Fox News interview Monday, promising that war in Iran will not be a long one.
“There’s just no way that Donald Trump is going to allow this country to get into a multiyear conflict with no clear end in sight and no clear objective,” Vance said.
But now, statements from US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, reveal that what really triggered the US attack was Israel.
Israeli attack plans prompted operation
The Guardian reports that Marco Rubio said Israel’s readiness to strike Iran, and the expectation of retaliation against US troops, compelled Washington to launch pre-emptive attacks.
“It was abundantly clear that if Iran came under attack by anyone – the United States or Israel or anyone – they were going to respond, and respond against the United States,” Rubio told reporters at the Capitol.
“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 pre-emptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties.”
Wider stakes
Since hostilities began, US and Israeli strikes have targeted sites across Iran. Tehran has responded with drone and missile attacks on US-aligned countries in the region.
The Iranian Red Crescent Society said more than 500 people have been killed. The US military confirmed six American service members have died.
Sources: BBC, The Guardian, Fox News
