Rubio warns Iran against targeting US over Israeli strikes

Rubio warns Iran against targeting US over Israeli strikes
by AFP Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) June 13, 2025

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Iran late Thursday not to respond to Israeli strikes by hitting American bases, saying Washington was not involved.

"We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region," Rubio said in a statement.

"Let me be clear: Iran should not target US interests or personnel."

Israel announced strikes on Iran, where loud explosions were heard, hours after US President Donald Trump publicly said they should not do so.

Trump had said that Israel would ruin chances for a peacefully negotiated solution, which he said was close.

A sixth round of talks over Tehran's nuclear program had been scheduled between the United States and Iran on Sunday in Oman.

"Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense," Rubio said, without offering support or criticism of the strikes by the close US ally.

"President Trump and the administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners," he said.

Iran says to target US bases if conflict breaks out
Tehran (AFP) June 11, 2025 - Iran threatened Wednesday to target US military bases in the region if conflict breaks out, while President Donald Trump said he was "less confident" about reaching a nuclear deal.

Tehran and Washington have held five rounds of talks since April to thrash out a new nuclear deal to replace the 2015 accord that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.

Since returning to office in January, Trump has revived his "maximum pressure" campaign on Tehran, backing nuclear diplomacy but warning of military action if it fails.

"All its bases are within our reach, we have access to them, and without hesitation we will target all of them in the host countries," Iran's Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said in response to US threats of military action if the talks fail.

"God willing, things won't reach that point, and the talks will succeed," the minister said, adding that the US side "will suffer more losses" if it came to conflict.

The United States has multiple bases in the Middle East, with the largest located in Qatar.

Iran and the United States have recently been locked in a diplomatic standoff over Iran's uranium enrichment, with Tehran defending it as a "non-negotiable" right and Washington calling it as a "red line".

Trump had previously expressed optimism about the talks, saying during a Gulf tour last month Washington was "getting close" to securing a deal.

But in an interview published Wednesday, Trump said he was "less confident" the United States and Iran could reach a deal, in response to a question on whether he believed he could stop Tehran from enriching uranium.

- 'A shame' -

Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal and close though still short of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead.

Western countries, including the United States and its ally Israel, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire atomic weapons, while Tehran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.

Last week, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said enrichment is "key" to Iran's nuclear programme and that Washington "cannot have a say" on the issue.

During the interview with the New York Post's podcast "Pod Force One", which was recorded on Monday, Trump said he was losing hope a deal could be reached.

"I don't know. I did think so, and I'm getting more and more -- less confident about it. They seem to be delaying and I think that's a shame. I am less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago," he said.

"Something happened to them but I am much less confident of a deal being made... May be they don't wanna make a deal, what can I say? And may be they do. There is nothing final."

Trump maintained that Washington would not allow Tehran to obtain nuclear weapons, saying "it would be nicer to do it without warfare, without people dying".

On May 31, after the fifth round of talks, Iran said it had received "elements" of a US proposal for a nuclear deal, with Araghchi later saying the text contained "ambiguities".

Iran has said it will present a counter-proposal to the latest draft from Washington, which it had criticised for failing to offer relief from sanctions -- a key demand for Tehran, which has been reeling under their weight for years.

On Monday, the United Nations nuclear watchdog began a Board of Governors meeting in Vienna that will last until Friday to discuss Iran's atomic activities and other issues.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meeting followed a report issued by it criticising "less than satisfactory" cooperation from Tehran, particularly in explaining past cases of nuclear material found at undeclared sites.

Iran has criticised the IAEA report as unbalanced, saying it relied on "forged documents" provided by its arch-foe Israel.

Israel strikes Iran: what we know
Jerusalem (AFP) June 13, 2025 - Israel said Friday it had carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites, promising to continue military action "to remove this threat."

The strikes hit several areas in Iran, with blasts reported in the capital Tehran, as well as at a key uranium enrichment site. Here is what we know:

What was hit?

Israel's military said its jets carried out strikes on "dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in different areas of Iran."

Blasts were reported in Tehran, where Iranian state television said fire and smoke were seen at a key site for Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the city's east.

State television also reported "loud explosions" in Natanz, in Iran's central Isfahan province, where a key nuclear site is located.

The "Natanz enrichment facility has been hit several times," state TV reported, showing footage of heavy smoke billowing from the site.

Iranian state media said residential buildings in Tehran were damaged and several civilians killed.

An Israeli security official said the strikes had "likely eliminated" Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of the Islamic republic's armed forces, along with senior nuclear scientists.

Iranian media meanwhile said Revolutionary Guards chief Hossein Salami had been killed.

Why now?

Israel sees the cleric-run state in Tehran as an existential threat and hit Iranian air defences last year.

Its defence minister Israel Katz described the action as a "preemptive strike".

The United States and other Western countries, along with Israel, have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, which it has always denied.

Israel again called for global action after the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency accused Iran on Wednesday of non-compliance with its obligations.

There had been indications a military strike was likely, with US media reporting an imminent Israeli attack that would not be coordinated with the Washington.

"I don't want to say imminent, but it looks like it's something that could very well happen," US President Donald Trump told reporters on Thursday when asked if an Israeli attack loomed.

A sixth round of talks over Tehran's nuclear programme had been scheduled between the United States and Iran on Sunday in Oman.

Who was involved?

Israel relies on Washington for military and diplomatic support but carried out the strikes alone, top US diplomat Marco Rubio said.

"We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region," he said in a statement warning Tehran against targeting US interests.

Rubio said Israel had "advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defence," without offering support or criticism of the strikes.

What has been the reaction?

Air traffic has been halted at Tehran's main international airport, and neighbouring Iraq has closed its airspace entirely.

Israel has warned Iran could retaliate at any moment, declaring a state of emergency and also shutting its airspace.

In Washington, the White House said Trump would convene security chiefs after the strike, which was criticised by a senior Democrat.

"Israel's alarming decision to launch airstrikes on Iran is a reckless escalation that risks igniting regional violence," said Senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the US Senate Armed Services Committee.

The strikes saw oil prices surge up to six percent.

Senior US Democrat condemns Israel's 'reckless escalation'
Washington (AFP) June 13, 2025 - Democratic senators sharply criticized US ally Israel on Thursday for its strikes on Iran, as the White House distanced itself from the attack but Republican senators voiced gratitude to Israel.

"Israel's alarming decision to launch airstrikes on Iran is a reckless escalation that risks igniting regional violence," Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island said in a statement.

His comment came after Israel carried out a "preemptive" strike against Tehran's nuclear and military sites, in defiance of a call from US President Donald Trump to refrain from attacking Iran.

Reed, the top Democrat on the US Senate Armed Services Committee, warned that the "strikes threaten not only the lives of innocent civilians but the stability of the entire Middle East and the safety of American citizens and forces."

"While tensions between Israel and Iran are real and complex, military aggression of this scale is never the answer," he insisted.

"I urge both nations to show immediate restraint, and I call on President Trump and our international partners to press for diplomatic de-escalation before this crisis spirals further out of control."

Other Democrats also voiced alarm.

"This action ordered by Prime Minister Netanyahu appears to deliberately undermine ongoing American diplomatic negotiations about Iran's nuclear program," Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey said on X.

Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut agreed.

"This is a disaster of Trump and Netanyahu's own making, and now the region risks spiraling toward a new, deadly conflict," he warned on X.

He also took a political jab at the US president, insisting that Israel's decision to attack "is further evidence of how little respect world powers -- including our own allies -- have for President Trump."

Republican senators responded as well, but with a very different tone.

Tom Cotton of Arkasas insisted on X that "Iran is the world's worst state sponsor of terrorism, has the blood of thousands of Americans on its hands, and is rushing to build not only nuclear weapons, but also missiles that can strike the United States."

"We back Israel to the hilt, all the way."

Ted Cruz of Texas agreed.

"Israel is doing a favor to America right now by taking out Iran's nuclear capacity," he said.