With the American-led bombing campaign of Iran in full-swing, there’s a certain level of angst being felt by a minority on the right. Having become obsessed with conspiracies surrounding Jews and Israel over the last year or so, they are latching onto anything they can to back those conspiracies. That includes repeated assertions that figures such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and organizations like Mossad are actually controlling President Donald Trump.
In relation to Iran, that means framing the operation as “for Israel.” Megyn Kelly even went so far as to claim the four (now six) Americans who have died so far (due to an Iranian missile strike in Kuwait) did not die serving their country, but for a foreign power. Bolstering that narrative is a recent comment made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which is being taken grossly out of context.
Also See: How Iran Tried to Punk President Trump on a Deal, and Why No One Else Should Try It
For example, here’s how Republican Rep. Thomas Massie (KY-04) described what Rubio said.
The administration admits 🇮🇱 dragged us into the 🇮🇷 war that’s already cost too many American lives and billions of dollars. Before it’s over, the price of gas, groceries, and virtually everything else is going to go up. The only winners in 🇺🇸 are defense company shareholders. https://t.co/MR75j2ytCB
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) March 2, 2026
He’s hardly the only one. Numerous other accounts from that segment of the right have been pushing the same narrative, claiming the United States only attacked Iran because Israel made us. What did Rubio actually say, though? When you listen to the full question and answer, it becomes clear he not only did not say what he’s being accused of, but he reiterated the opposite.
— TheConservativeSide (@PoliteRightSide) March 3, 2026
REPORTER: Are you saying the U.S. was forced to strike because of impending Israeli action?
RUBIO: No. First of all, two things I would say. Number one is, no matter what, this operation needed to happen. That’s the question of why now, but this operation needed to happen because Iran in about a year or a year-and-a-half, would cross the line of immunity, meaning they would have so many short-range missiles, so many drones that no one could do anything about it because they could hold the whole world hostage. Look at the damage they’re doing now, and this is a weakened Iran. Imagine a year from now, so that had to happen. Obviously, we were aware of Israeli intentions, and understood what that would mean for us, and had to be prepared to act as a result of it, but this needed to happen no matter what.
There are two things to note here. One involves what Rubio said, and the other involves what the United States did.
On the first point, Rubio directly counters the idea that we only struck because Israel forced our hand. What he then explains is that we were going to strike regardless, but that the timing had to coincide with when Israel struck. Notably, it was the United States that gave Israel the intel on Khamenei’s location, prompting the initial strike. None of this was a surprise to us, and given how closely Trump works with Netanyahu on these matters, it is absurd to suggest Israel struck without our express permission. In short, due to strategic and defensive considerations, America had to launch strikes in conjunction with Israel, but Israel was not the motivation for this operation, nor did they “force” the administration into anything.
Secondly, one only needs to look at the U.S. build-up to debunk the claims of Massie and others. Clearly, the Trump administration did not spend months building a massive armada off the coast of Iran with no intention of using it if Iran kept stalling and obfuscating during talks. That makes no sense at all.
All of this nonsense is based on an irrational hate of Israel, sometimes extending into outright antisemitism, held by a minority on the right. They can’t grapple with the fact that Trump makes his own decisions and that he decided taking out Iran while it was still weak was the right move. So they come up with conspiracies that blame others, whether that be Israeli intelligence, Mark Levin, or whatever other bogeyman they are currently focusing on. It’s a laughable contention. Trump was literally able to make Netanyahu turn bombers around during last year’s 12 Day War. He is not a “puppet” of Israel, and many of those suggesting that know better.
Editor’s Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.
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