Rubio Says Military Op In Iran Targets Missile, Naval Capabilities As Sixth American Soldier Dies

Last Updated:March 03, 2026, 03:03 IST

Israel says strikes in Tehran hit intelligence hubs and missile launchers as officials expect Iran’s ballistic fire to drop within 24 hours.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington’s military operation against Iran is aimed at eliminating the threat posed by Tehran’s short-range ballistic missiles and its naval capabilities, even as the US confirmed that six American service members have been killed since hostilities began.

Rubio said the campaign’s “clear objective" is to neutralise Iran’s missile programme and the risks posed to US and allied naval assets. He maintained that the strikes were launched “pre-emptively" after Washington learned Israel planned to attack, arguing that failing to act first would have resulted in higher American casualties.

“We knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties," Rubio said, according to a report by CNN, describing the threat as imminent. He added that allowing Iran to continue developing short-range ballistic missiles was an “unacceptable risk" and said the operation was undertaken while Tehran was at its “weakest point." He made the remarks before briefing the “Gang of Eight" group of congressional leaders.

Separately, US Central Command said the American death toll has risen to six after forces recovered the remains of two previously unaccounted service members from a facility struck during Iran’s initial attacks in the region.

Meanwhile, Israel said it carried out additional waves of strikes in Tehran, hitting “dozens" of targets linked to the Iranian regime and its intelligence apparatus, even as officials projected a sharp drop in Iran’s ballistic missile fire within the next 24 hours.

The Israel Defense Forces said the latest strikes targeted headquarters, bases and regional command centres belonging to Iran’s internal security bodies, along with more than 10 sites associated with the regime’s main intelligence services under the Ministry of Intelligence. Multiple missile launchers and ballistic missile arrays were also struck, the IDF added.

Two Israeli officials said the sustained assault is expected to significantly degrade Iran’s ability to fire ballistic missiles, with the rate of launches projected to decline by Tuesday night.

More than 1,200 targets have been hit in the first three days of the war, a figure expected to double by Tuesday as what officials described as a relentless pace of strikes continues. Overnight operations are set to focus on missile launchers, Revolutionary Guards positions and internal security forces.

US and Israeli officials have repeatedly said the scope and pace of the air campaign are exceeding initial expectations.

(with inputs from AFP)

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