US Military Action Targets Iran’s Ballistic and Naval Threats
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US military operation against Iran was aimed at “eliminating” the threat posed by Iran’s short-range ballistic missiles and its naval capabilities, particularly regarding threats to global shipping. Speaking to the press on Capitol Hill on Monday (local time), Rubio made it clear that the primary goal of the operation was to neutralize Iran’s ballistic missile and naval threats.
“That is the clear objective of this mission,” Rubio said and added that the focus was on preventing a potential threat to the US and its allies. “Our mission and our focus is the destruction of their ballistic missile capabilities and their ability to manufacture them, as well as the threat posed by their Navy to global shipping,” he said.
The Secretary of State also said that they knew Iran would retaliate to military action. “The imminent threat was that we knew that if Iran was attacked,… they would immediately come after us, and we were not going to sit there and absorb a blow before we responded,” Rubio explained.
Preemptive Action and Risk Management
Further speaking on preemptive action, Rubio said, “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 preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties.” He added that a delay in responding would result in “much higher casualties.”
Rubio also stated that allowing Iran to continue developing its short-range ballistic missiles was an “unacceptable risk” and insisted that the military operation had to take place while Tehran was at its “weakest point.” He reiterated the US’s stance on Iran, saying, “Our mission and our focus is the destruction of their ballistic missile capabilities and their ability to manufacture them, as well as the threat posed by their Navy to global shipping.”
Civilian Safety and Long-Term Goals
“The United States would not deliberately target a school. Our objectives are missiles, both the ability to manufacture them and the ability to launch them, and the one-way attractor. That would be our focus. We would have no interest in targeting civilian infrastructure. The Iranians are, on the other hand, targeting civilian infrastructure. They are deliberately targeting civilians because they are a terroristic regime. They sponsor terrorism, and they participate in terrorism,” he added.
He also expressed support for a potential regime change in Iran. “We hope that the Iranian people can overthrow this government and establish a new future for that country.” However, he stressed that the immediate goal was to ensure that Iran no longer had the weapons that could threaten the US and its regional allies. “We would love to see this regime be replaced… The objective of this mission is to make sure they don’t have these weapons that can threaten us and our allies in the region,” Rubio added.
On February 28, the US and Israeli forces conducted coordinated airstrikes across multiple Iranian cities, targeting military command centers, air-defense systems, missile sites, and key regime infrastructure. These strikes resulted in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and four senior military and security officials, with large explosions reported in Tehran and other major cities. In retaliation, Iran launched ballistic missiles and drones at US assets and allies across the region, further widening the Middle East conflict.
(This article has been syndicayed from ANI)
Aishwarya is a journalism graduate with over three years of experience thriving in the buzzing corporate media world. She’s got a knack for decoding business news, tracking the twists and turns of the stock market, covering the masala of the entertainment world, and sometimes her stories come with just the right sprinkle of political commentary. She has worked with several organizations, interned at ZEE and gained professional skills at TV9 and News24, And now is learning and writing at NewsX, she’s no stranger to the newsroom hustle. Her storytelling style is fast-paced, creative, and perfectly tailored to connect with both the platform and its audience. Moto: Approaching every story from the reader’s point of view, backing up her insights with solid facts.
Always bold with her opinions, she also never misses the chance to weave in expert voices, keeping things balanced and insightful. In short, Aishwarya brings a fresh, sharp, and fact-driven voice to every story she touches.
