RUBIO SETS THE RECORD STRAIGHT: Secretary Marco Rubio Briefs Congress on Iran Strikes — Defends Trump’s ‘Operation Epic Fury’

Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to Capitol Hill Monday to brief members of Congress on President Donald Trump’s decisive strikes against Iran’s military infrastructure, and he made one thing crystal clear: There is no “confusion” about Operation Epic Fury.

“There was a fair, clear goal in mind,” Rubio told reporters ahead of the briefing. “I don’t understand what the confusion is. Let me explain it to you.”

Rubio made it explicit: the mission is focused on dismantling Iran’s short-range ballistic missile arsenal and neutralizing naval threats to U.S. assets.

“The United States is conducting an operation to eliminate the threat of Iran’s short-range ballistic missiles and the threat posed by their Navy, particularly to naval assets,” Rubio said. “That is what it is focused on doing right now — and it’s doing quite successfully.”

According to Rubio, the regime has been mass-producing over 100 missiles per month, in addition to thousands of one-way attack drones. He contrasted that with the limited number of defensive interceptors that can be manufactured monthly.

This was not random escalation, he argued, it was a preemptive strike against an accelerating threat.

Why Now? Rubio Breaks It Down

Rubio outlined two immediate triggers for action:

1. Iran’s automatic retaliation posture.
   The regime had already delegated launch authority to field commanders. Within an hour of the initial strike on a leadership compound, missile forces in both the north and south were activated.

2. Preventing catastrophic U.S. casualties.
   Intelligence assessments concluded that waiting for Iran to strike first would result in significantly higher American casualties.

“Within an hour of the initial attack on the leadership compound, the missile forces in the south and in the north, for that matter, had already been activated to launch. In fact, those had already been prepositioned.”

“If we stood and waited for that attack to come first before we hit them, we would suffer much higher casualties,” Rubio explained. “The President made the very wise decision.”

He emphasized that U.S. officials knew Israeli action was imminent, and knew retaliation against American forces would follow. The only strategic option, Rubio argued, was to act first.

Iran’s “Immunity Strategy”

Rubio described Tehran’s long-term strategy as building a conventional missile and drone arsenal so massive that it would deter any intervention against its nuclear ambitions.

“They are trying to build a conventional weapons capability as a shield where they can hide behind,” he said. “There would come a point where they have so many missiles and drones that no one can do anything about their nuclear program.”

That, Rubio warned, would create effective immunity for a regime driven not by conventional geopolitical calculations, but by ideological doctrine.

“The entire regime is led by radical clerics,” Rubio stated, referencing Iran’s Supreme Leader. “They don’t make geopolitical decisions — they make decisions on the basis of theology, an apocalyptic view.”

A Calculated Decision — Not a Reckless One

Rubio directly pushed back on narratives portraying the strike as impulsive or reckless. According to him, the alternative was accepting an “unacceptable risk,” allowing Iran’s missile production to continue unchecked while U.S. forces and regional allies remained exposed.

Iran, he added, has already demonstrated its willingness to strike civilian infrastructure, including airports, hotels, embassies, and non-military facilities, even under years of sanctions.

“Imagine a year from now,” Rubio warned, “the capabilities they would have to inflict damage on us.”

Operation Epic Fury, he made clear, is about preventing that future.

As major combat operations continue, Rubio’s message to Congress, and to the media, was simple: This was not a war of choice.

It was a preemptive move to stop a regime racing toward missile dominance and nuclear leverage before American lives paid the price.

WATCH:

JUST IN: Secretary Marco Rubio is on Capitol Hill to brief members of Congress on the Iran strikes

And he’s CLEARING UP confusion around Operation Epic Fury, making three key points:

1. “The United States is conducting an operation to eliminate the threat of Iran’s short… pic.twitter.com/PTbz8APRDa

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) March 2, 2026

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