Donald Trump is working to reassert that the United States struck Iran on his terms alone, as his administration scrambles to contain political fallout from remarks by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Rubio had suggested that Washington moved militarily in part because it knew Israel was preparing its own operation. His comments ignited a storm in Congress and among Trump’s populist base, fueling suspicions that the United States had been pulled into a wider conflict by an ally rather than acting independently.

“We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action,” Rubio said, explaining that US officials anticipated retaliatory attacks on American forces. “If we didn’t pre-emptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties.”

The implication that Israel’s plans shaped the timing of the strikes prompted Democrats to renew accusations that Trump bypassed Congress’s constitutional authority over war powers. It also unsettled isolationist-leaning Republicans, who have long warned against entanglement in Middle Eastern conflicts.

The White House moved quickly to shut down the narrative. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt publicly rejected claims that Trump had been pressured or “dragged” into war, insisting the operation was rooted in US assessments and US interests.

Trump himself doubled down during an Oval Office appearance with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, portraying the strikes as a calculated effort to blunt an imminent threat from Tehran. He cited stalled nuclear talks and intelligence suggesting Iran was preparing to target American assets.

“Based on the way the negotiation was going, I think they were going to attack first,” Trump said. “And I didn’t want that to happen. So, if anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand.”

The operation represents one of the most dramatic escalations in the long, volatile standoff between Washington and Tehran, layered atop Israel’s own confrontation with Iran over its nuclear and missile programs and its backing of regional proxy forces.

Rubio later tried to clarify his remarks, telling lawmakers that the strike was “inevitable” regardless of Israel’s plans and that “the president made a decision” to deny Iran the ability to launch an attack with impunity.

Still, critics say the administration’s shifting explanations have deepened confusion and revived debates over executive war powers. With control of Congress on the line in upcoming elections, the Iran strikes have quickly become a litmus test for how far Americans are willing to go in another Middle Eastern confrontation.