As the American-led bombing campaign in Iran escalates, a sense of unease has emerged among a segment of the right. Over the past year, some have fixated on conspiracies involving Jews and Israel, seizing upon any opportunity to support these narratives. They are now asserting that figures like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and organizations such as Mossad are, in fact, pulling the strings of President Donald Trump.
In the context of Iran, this has led to framing the military operation as being “for Israel.” Megyn Kelly even claimed that the four (now six) Americans who have lost their lives in the recent Iranian missile strike in Kuwait did not die serving their country, but rather for a foreign power. This narrative has been further fueled by a recent comment from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which has been taken completely out of context.
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For instance, here’s how Trump-deranged ‘Republican’ Rep. Thomas Massie 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 far from the only one making these claims. Several others from that segment of the right have been promoting a similar narrative, arguing that the United States attacked Iran solely at the behest of Israel. But what did Rubio actually say? When you listen to the complete question and answer, it becomes clear that he not only did not make the statements he’s been accused of, but he also reinforced the opposite perspective:
— 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 examine the U.S. military buildup to debunk the claims made by Massie and others. Clearly, the Trump administration did not spend months assembling a massive armada off the coast of Iran without the intention of using it if Iran continued to stall and obstruct during negotiations. That reasoning makes no sense.
All of this speculation stems from an irrational hatred of Israel, sometimes bordering on outright antisemitism, held by a minority on the right. They struggle to accept that Trump makes his own decisions and that he believed taking action against Iran while it was still weak was the right move. Consequently, they concoct conspiracies that blame others, such as Israeli intelligence, Mark Levin, or whatever other scapegoat they are currently fixating on. This argument is laughable. Trump was even able to make Netanyahu turn bombers around during last year’s 12-day conflict. He is not a “puppet” of Israel, and many of those suggesting otherwise know better.
