Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated that the U.S. was aware of Israel's plans to take action against Iran and believed it would trigger an Iranian response if it was attacked. This contradicts what some members of Congress had been told about President Donald Trump's strikes on Iran. Sen. Mark Warner, one of the "Gang of Eight," had previously stated that there had been no intelligence indicating Iran was imminent strike. However, Rubio insisted that the US was proactive and that the military operation was primarily aimed at weakening Iran's ballistic missile and naval capabilities. He also mentioned that the hardest hits against Iran are yet to come, while offering an uncertain estimate for the conflict's timing.