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Trump admin warned lawmakers Israel was ‘determined to act with or without us’ before massive Iran strikes
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Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., described the recent U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran as a defensive measure, saying, «Israel was determined to act with or without us» following a classified briefing on Monday evening.
Johnson told reporters after the briefing that Israel viewed Iran’s capabilities as an existential threat and was prepared to conduct operations regardless of U.S. participation. He said Israel’s assessment shaped American deliberations, and it was «determined to act in their own defense here, with or without American support.»
The speaker said administration officials had to weigh risks to U.S. forces, regional assets and interests before supporting the operation.
«They had to evaluate the threats to the U.S., to our troops, to our installations, to our assets in the region and beyond. And they determined, because of the intelligence that we had, that a coordinated response was necessary,» Johnson said.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., gestures as he meets with reporters ahead of a key procedural vote to end the partial government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)
Johnson said he guarantees that if the U.S. had not acted, the Trump administration would have been hauled in by Congress and asked why they waited if they had «existential intelligence, knowing that that would happen.»
«I am convinced that they did the right thing,» he said.
Rubio confirmed that Israel was prepared to act against Iran and said the president «made a very wise decision.»
«We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces,» he told reporters. «And we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties.»
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Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., a top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, emerged from the briefing and said he did not believe there was an «imminent threat» prior to Saturday’s strikes.
«There was no imminent threat to the United States of America by the Iranians. It was a threat to Israel,» he said. «We equate a threat to Israel is the equivalent of an imminent threat to the United States. Then we are in uncharted territory.»
«We have seen the goals for this operation change now, I believe 4 or 5 times,» he went on.
Plumes of smoke from two simultaneous strikes rise over Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 2, 2026. (Mohsen Ganji/AP Photo)
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Rubio insisted the operation was not about Iranian regime change but about taking out its capabilities as a threat to the region – focused on ballistic missiles and naval capacity.
He did not say whether strikes would extend to nuclear facilities.
«I do believe there is more than adequate justification for our American and Israeli actions,» Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told reporters he believes there is «more than adequate justification for our American and Israeli actions,» without saying more.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital in an interview afterward that he felt administration officials did a good job of illustrating the threat level faced by the U.S. in the days leading up to the strikes.
«I think that’s largely been very open source. The president laid that out, you know, very clearly. It does go beyond that to what I can’t get into, but it goes beyond that. I’m sure it’ll come out in the administration’s good time, but it’s not for me to say,» Mast said.
Smoke rises in Tehran following an explosion on March 2, 2026, amid ongoing U.S. and Israeli military strikes. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
«But the more immediate nature of threats — I’m going through the negotiations with [Special Envoy Steve Witkoff], [Jared Kushner], Rubio, others that were a part of having those conversations and throughout that 10-day window of, you know, let’s call it countdown to make a deal, the threats that were going on in that window is probably the high-side information that you have.»
He also said there was a lot of daylight between what Democrats and Republicans in the briefing considered an «imminent threat.»
«It’s like, for me as a soldier, right, if I see an enemy machine gun nest, that to me, given that it’s an enemy machine gun nest, is an imminent threat,» Mast said. «To Democrats, unless that machine gun is burning up its barrels firing at you, it’s not yet an imminent threat. And those are the two separate ways that we’re looking at it.».
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On February 26th, the U.S. launched Operation Epic Fury against Iran in coordination with Israel. The offensive campaign has resulted in the death of 49 top Iranian leaders, including the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Six U.S. service members have lost their lives in Iranian counterattacks.
The opening phase of the conflict struck more than 1,000 targets in the first 24 hours, according to Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. American B-2 bombers flew 37-hour round-trip missions from the continental United States to hit underground facilities with penetrating munitions, he added.
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war with iran,mike johnson,iran,middle east foreign policy
INTERNACIONAL
Artemis II astronaut tells Trump what communication blackout was like: ‘I said a little prayer’
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The Artemis II cew literally went where no man, or woman, had gone before on a historic trek around the dark side of the moon on Monday, and the crew did it with pilot Victor Glover making a quick request for divine assistance.
«I’d like to ask, what was your feeling when you had no communication?» President Donald Trump asked in a call arranged by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman from Houston mission control to «Integrity,» the crew’s chosen name for the Orion capsule. «Zero communication all of a sudden: It was cut off by obviously your very special location; what was your feeling when you had no communication? A little bit different, perhaps.»
«Yes, Mr. President, it was,» Glover replied. «I said a little prayer, but then I had to keep rolling.»
The prayer was quick, because when things went dark, the crew had to get to work during the 45-minute communications outage.
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The moon is seen from a camera outside the Orion spacecraft after Artemis II astronauts surpassed the farthest distance ever traveled by humans from Earth on April 6, 2026. (NASA)
«I was actually recording scientific observations of the far side of the moon,» Glover continued. «You know, that is actually the time when we were the farthest and the closest to the moon.
«And so we were really able to make some of our most detailed observations of the far side of the moon up close. And so we were busy up here working really hard. And I must say it was actually quite nice.»
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Before going to sleep on flight day 5, the Artemis II crew snapped one more photo of the Moon, as it drew closer through the window of the Orion spacecraft. (NASA)
Trump drilled down on the observations.
«Did you see a difference, a big difference between the far side of the moon and the near side of the moon?» Trump asked. «Was there a difference in feel or difference in look, what did you see?»
The lack of light «certainly did» change the perspective, Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen said, noting the far side looked strikingly different from the near side, with far fewer of the dark plains visible from Earth.
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«The gravitational pull of the Earth has had a profound effect on the near side of the moon, changing all those dark mares, those dark patches of the moon you see from Earth. It’s very different on the far side.
«While you see some small patches of those mare and deep craters, it’s very much absent on that side. So that’s really neat.»
Hansen also took a moment to thank Trump on behalf of Canada, a country that has had at-times testy dealings with Trump.
This image from video provided by NASA shows the Artemis II crew, from left, Canadian astronaut and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman, mission specialist Christina Koch and pilot Victor Glover as they speak with NASA Mission Control in a video conference while en route to the moon, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (NASA)
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«And while I have the microphone, sir, I just want to thank you on behalf of Canada: The space leadership you spoke of from America truly is extraordinary,» Hansen said. «I’ve said this many times before, a nation that leads like that and creates and sets big goals for humanity, that brings other countries along with it, is truly incredible.
«And I know that’s a very intentional, not a necessary decision, intentional decision to lead by example and to allow other countries like Canada to share our gifts and help you achieve these mutually beneficial goals, like establishing a presence on the moon and eventually going to Mars.
«And Canadians are so proud to be a part of this program.»
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Trump referenced Canadian hockey great Wayne Gretzky and said the country is proud of Hansen’s bravery.
«They are so proud of you, and you have a lot of courage,» Trump said. «I’m not sure if they’d want to do that. I’m not even sure if The Great One would want to do that, to be honest with you. But you have a lot of courage doing what you’re doing, a lot of bravery and a lot of of genius. But they’re very, very proud of you.»
ASTRONAUT VICTOR GLOVER PRAISED FOR SAYING MOON MISSION IS ‘HUMAN HISTORY,’ NOT ‘BLACK HISTORY’
Split of President Donald Trump and Jared Isaacman. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images, Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Mission specialist Christina Koch spoke about regaining sight of Earth after the blackout and the importance of U.S. leadership in deep-space exploration.
«One of the biggest highlights was coming back from the far side of the moon and having the first glimpses of planet Earth again, after being out of communication for about 45 minutes,» said Koch, the first woman to the moon, who already holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman (328 days) and was part of the first all-female spacewalk.
«It really just reminds you what a special place we have and how important it is for our nation to work, to lead and not follow in exploring deep space.»
Commander Reid Wiseman told Trump the crew had witnessed views that were first sights for humanity, including a solar corona during an eclipse and planets lining up beyond the moon.
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«We saw sights hat no human has ever seen before, not even in Apollo, and that was amazing for us,» Wiseman said. «And then the surprise of the day, we just came out of an eclipse where the sun, moon — the entire dark moon about that big right out the window that we were watching — we could see the corona of the sun, and then we could see the planet train line up, and Mars.
«And all of us commented how excited we are to watch this nation, and this planet become a two-planet species.»
spaceflight, mars, solar eclipse, moon, nasa
Una serie de fuertes explosiones sacudieron este martes la isla de Kharg, el principal centro de exportación de crudo de Irán, tras un ataque de Estados Unidos, según informaron medios de ese país.
La agencia de noticias estatal Mehr y el canal qatarí Al Araby confirmaron las detonaciones en la isla, que gestiona aproximadamente el 90% de las exportaciones de petróleo de la República Islámica.
El medio Axios, citando a un alto funcionario estadounidense no identificado, confirmó que los ataques fueron llevados a cabo por Estados Unidos. Según el reporte fue golpeada únicamente la infraestructura militar de la isla, dejando intacta la infraestructura de procesamiento o a las terminales de carga.
El incidente ocurre en un momento de máxima tensión, apenas días después de que el presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, sugiriera la posibilidad de tomar el control de la isla para asegurar los recursos petroleros de la región, y a horas de que venciera el ultimatum del mandatario para reabrir el Estrecho de Ormuz.
Kharg es considerada una pieza irremplazable para la economía de Teherán; su ubicación en aguas profundas permite el atraque de los superpetroleros más grandes del mundo, una capacidad de la que carecen los puertos menos profundos de la costa continental iraní.
La situación en el Golfo se ha deteriorado rápidamente tras el vencimiento de un plazo impuesto por la administración Trump para la reapertura total del Estrecho de Ormuz. En una entrevista concedida al Financial Times el pasado domingo 29 de marzo, el mandatario estadounidense endureció su retórica al afirmar que deseaba “apropiarse del petróleo de Irán” y que el control de la isla de Kharg es una opción real sobre la mesa.
“Queremos ese petróleo y podríamos tomar la isla”, declaró Trump en la entrevista, vinculando la seguridad de la infraestructura energética con las negociaciones para poner fin a la guerra actual.
Por su parte, el liderazgo iraní ha intentado proyectar una imagen de normalidad operativa. Moussa Ahmadi, jefe de la comisión de energía del parlamento iraní, declaró recientemente a la agencia ISNA que las exportaciones no solo se han mantenido estables, sino que han aumentado en los últimos días, a pesar de la constante amenaza de hostilidades.
El ataque del martes no es el primer contacto bélico en la zona este año. El pasado 13 de marzo, fuerzas estadounidenses llevaron a cabo ataques contra objetivos militares en Kharg, aunque evitaron deliberadamente golpear las instalaciones petroleras para prevenir un desastre ambiental y económico de escala global. Trump afirmó entonces que los objetivos militares habían sido “totalmente obliterados”.
Sin embargo, los movimientos recientes sugieren la preparación para una operación de mayor envergadura. La llegada al Oriente Medio del USS Tripoli, un buque de asalto anfibio que transporta a unos 3.500 marines y marineros, ha alimentado las advertencias de Teherán sobre una posible invasión terrestre.
Más ataques contra la infraestructura iraní
El ataque a la terminal petrolera fue acompañado este martes por una serie de impactos contra nodos logísticos y de transporte en el interior de Irán. En la provincia de Qom, al sur de la capital, el vicegobernador Morteza Heydari informó a la televisión estatal que proyectiles enemigos atacaron uno de los puentes de las líneas de comunicación en el oeste de la provincia. Simultáneamente, en la ciudad central de Kashan, un funcionario de seguridad regional confirmó a la agencia IRNA que un ataque contra el puente ferroviario de Yahya Abad dejó un saldo de dos personas muertas y tres heridas, calificando la acción como una agresión “estadounidense-sionista”.
Paralelamente, el servicio ferroviario hacia y desde Mashhad, la segunda ciudad más grande de Irán, fue cancelado por completo. El gobernador local, Hassan Hosseini, atribuyó la medida a una advertencia previa emitida por el ejército israelí, en la que se instaba a los ciudadanos iraníes a no utilizar las vías férreas. Poco después, las fuerzas de defensa de Israel emitieron un comunicado informando que habían completado una amplia ola de ataques contra decenas de sitios de infraestructura en diversas áreas del país, dirigidos contra lo que denominaron las capacidades operativas del régimen iraní.
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