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speaker Mike JohnsonLouisiana Republican describes recent U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran defensive measures“Israel is determined to act with or without us,” he said after a classified briefing on Monday night.
Johnson told reporters after the briefing that Israel views Iran’s capabilities as an existential threat and is prepared to take action with or without U.S. involvement. He said Israel’s assessment influenced U.S. deliberations and that “Israel is determined to act here to defend itself, with or without U.S. support.”
The spokesman said administration officials must weigh the risks to U.S. forces, regional assets and interests before supporting the operation.
“They have to assess the threats to the United States, to our forces, to our installations, to our assets in the region and beyond. Based on the intelligence that we have, they determine that a coordinated response is necessary,” Johnson said.
Louisiana House Speaker Mike Johnson gestures as he meets with reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, ahead of a key procedural vote to end the partial government shutdown. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)
Johnson said he guaranteed that if the U.S. didn’t take action, the Trump administration would be dragged into Congress to ask why they waited if they had “intelligence that existed to know this was going to happen.”
“I believe they did the right thing,” he said.
Rubio confirmed that Israel was prepared to take action against Iran and said the president “made a very wise decision.”
“We know Israel will take action. We know it will trigger an attack on U.S. troops,” he told reporters. “We knew that if we did not strike before they launched an attack, we would suffer greater casualties.“.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, told a briefing that he did not believe there was an “imminent threat” before Saturday’s attack.
“The Iranians do not pose an imminent threat to the United States of America. This is a Threats to Israel“, he said. “We equate threats to Israel with imminent threats to the United States. Then we enter uncharted territory. ”
“We have now seen the objectives of this operation change, I believe four or five times,” he continued.
On Monday, March 2, 2026, two simultaneous attacks sent billows of smoke over Tehran, Iran. (Mohsen Ganji/AP Photo)
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Rubio insists the operation is not about regime change in Iran but about eliminating its capabilities — which focus on ballistic missiles and naval capabilities — that pose a threat to the region.
He did not say whether the attack would extend to nuclear facilities.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, told reporters that “I do believe there are good reasons for our actions as the United States and Israel’s actions,” but did not say much more.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., said in a subsequent Fox News Digital interview that he thought administration officials gave a good picture of the level of threat the U.S. faced in the days leading up to the attack.
“I think this is very much open source. You know, the president has made that very clear. It’s really beyond my reach, but it’s beyond that. I’m sure it will come at a good time for the administration, but that’s not something I can say,” Mast said.
On March 2, 2026, an explosion occurred in Tehran and smoke rose as the United States and Israel continued to launch military strikes. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
“But the more immediate nature of the threat — I’m negotiating with (Special Envoy Steve Witkoff), (Jared Kushner), Rubio and others who are involved in these conversations, in this 10-day window, you know, let’s call it the countdown to a deal, what happens in that window is probably the high-end information that you have.”
He also said Democrats and Republicans differed widely in their views on “imminent threats” in their briefings.
“To me, as a soldier, if I see an enemy machine gun nest, then to me, given that it’s an enemy machine gun nest, that’s an imminent threat,” Mast said. “To a Democrat, unless that machine gun burns its barrel and fires at you, it’s not an imminent threat. Those are two different ways we look at it.”
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On February 26, the United States coordinated with Israel to launch Operation Epic Fury against Iran. The offensive killed 49 senior Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Six U.S. service members were killed in Iranian counterattacks.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said more than 1,000 targets were struck in the first 24 hours of the conflict. American B-2 bomber He added that a 37-hour round-trip mission from the continental United States was conducted to hit underground facilities with penetrating munitions.
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