Rubio tries to backtrack after Israel comments later contradicted by Trump trigger criticism – as it happened

Our live coverage is ending now. In the meantime, you can find all of our live US politics coverage here and our coverage of today’s midterm elections here. Here is a summary of the key developments from today:

• Secretary of state Marco Rubio, defense secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and the chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Cain held classified briefings on the US-Israel war in Iran for all members of the Senate and House of Representatives. After, lawmakers’ statements to reporters provided a window into the rationale the Trump administration is using to justify the military operation. Tim Burchett, a Republican representative from Tennessee, said the Trump administration made the case that Iran posed an imminent threat by outlining examples from as far back as the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, a 1983 Hezbollah attack and the 2003-2011 Iraq war, listing incidents that align with a fact sheet posted on the White House website yesterday. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington, said members of the House of Representatives “got no additional information on what the imminent threat was.” She added, “There were a lot of references to the 47 years of Iran being a problem. That is not imminent, that is in the past.”

• Ahead of those classified briefings, Rubio attempted to backtrack on his remarks that a plan from Israel to attack Iran spurred the Trump administration to take pre-emptive strikes. “I told you, this had to happen anyway, the president made a decision, and the decision he made was that Iran was not going to be allowed to hide behind its ballistic missile program,” the secretary of state insisted, without fully addressing his comments about Israel’s plan to attack first.

• While meeting with German chancellor Friedrich Merz, Donald Trump insisted that Israel did not pressure the US to launch the initial strikes against Iran over the weekend. “I think they were going to attack first, and I didn’t want that to happen. So, if anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand,” Donald Trump said while speaking to reporters, contradicting comments on Monday by his secretary of state Marco Rubio.

• Throughout his appearance in the Oval Office, the first in-person meeting with a world leader since the US-Israel war on Iran began, Trump also chided two European allies. He criticized Spain, after the country denied the US permission to use jointly operated military bases on its territory as it continued its attacks against Iran. Trump said that he’s instructed treasury secretary Scott Bessent to “cut off all dealings” with Madrid. The president also scolded the UK, after Keir Starmer refused to aid the US in its ongoing war on Iran. “This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,” Trump said of the British prime minister.

• The president said, while answering a question about who he envisoned would take over in Iran, that “most of the people we had in mind are dead”, following strikes from the US and Israel. He also noted that those the administration had in mind from “another group” may be dead, based on reports.

• The secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Kristi Noem, on Tuesday would not retract her statements calling the two US citizens who were killed by immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis earlier this year “domestic terrorists”. Appearing before Congress for the first time since the killings, Noem evaded questions by the Senate Democrats on the judiciary committee about whether she would take back the false accusations about Renee Good and Alex Pretti. She also claimed that immigration agents do not abide by quotas for arrests.

• Howard Lutnick, Donald Trump’s commerce secretary, has agreed to appear voluntarily before the House committee on oversight and government reform as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal network. James Comer, the Kentucky Republican who chairs the panel, said Lutnick had “proactively” agreed to the transcribed interview.

• The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has opened an internal investigation into allegations that Gregory Bovino, a senior border patrol official, made disparaging remarks about the Jewish faith of Minnesota’s top federal prosecutor, the New York Times reported.

• Donald Trump has endorsed Aaron Flint, a conservative radio host and veteran running to fill a House of Representatives seat that Ryan Zinke announced yesterday he will vacate at the end of his term.

The Pentagon has released the names of four of the six service members who have been killed since the US-Israel war in Iran began this weekend.

The four Army Reserve soldiers were killed in a drone strike in Kuwait on Sunday, they are: Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Spc. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, lowa.

House speaker Mike Johnson called efforts to advance a war powers motion in Congress “dangerous” in remarks to reporters following a classified briefing.

Iran is “trying to intimidate America, they’re trying to test our resolve, and the idea that there’s some members of this legislative body that would play along with that plays right into the hands of the enemy,” he said.

Tim Kaine, the junior senator from Virginia, said there’s a “troubling pattern” of the Trump administration launching military operations without the consent of Congress, in a statement to reporters after a classified briefing to senators on the US-Israel strikes on Iran. He named instances of recent military actions in Venezuela, Nigeria and Iran.

“It’s convinced many of us in the room that you’ve decided that you will never come to Congress,” Kaine said. “You don’t think you ever have to come to Congress for war authorization.”

The United States has not had backchannel communications with the current Iranian regime since the start of strikes, senior Trump administration officials told reporters on a background call earlier.

Specifically, the officials said, the US has not had any contact – written or verbal – with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi or top national security official Ali Larijani since the start of the conflict.

The officials also said a sanctions relief package is being prepared for any future Iranian leadership willing to abandon proxies, ballistic missiles and a military nuclear program.

Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington, said members of the House of Representatives “got no additional information on what the imminent threat was” during a briefing on the US-Israel war in Iran.

“There were a lot of references to the 47 years of Iran being a problem. That is not imminent, that is in the past. Imminent means immediate threat to the US,” she said.

She also raised concerns that Donald Trump violated his war powers. “One person saying that in his opinion this is the right thing to do is the tradition that we broke with of monarchs and kings making singular decisions to take their countries to war,” she said.

Following a briefing on the US-Israel war in Iran to members of Congress, members of the House of Representatives have begun sharing statements with reporters.

Tim Burchett, a Republican representative from Tennessee, said the operation is “going a lot faster than they thought it would,” but “a lot has to do with the Iranian people themselves. They’re going to have to step up and take over, like they did when they overtook the Shah.”

He added that the Trump administration made the case that Iran posed an imminent threat by outlining examples from as far back as the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, a 1983 Hezbollah attack and the 2003-2011 Iraq war, listing incidents that align with a fact sheet posted on the White House website yesterday.

“They gouge little girls’ eyes out that want to wear make-up, and little boys that get on Twitter they hang them, they throw homosexuals off of buildings, women that get raped they stone them to death. These people are archaic, man, they’re demonic,” he said.

In response to a question about MAGA-aligned voters, who might be wary of the United States entering another forever war, Burchett said, “Stay concerned. Be concerned, be vigilant, hold our feet to the fire, keep us honest on that issue.” He added, “Just don’t tell the president that I said that.”

Shortly after, Nancy Mace, a Republican congresswoman from South Carolina, said she will remain “a no for now” on a war powers resolution “but if this thing goes beyond a couple weeks, I’m going to be more concerned”.

“If ground troops get involved, I think that’s a very different conversation,” she said.

Josh Hawley said he will still vote “no” on a war powers resolution after attending a classified briefing on the US-Israel war in Iran for all senators this afternoon.

The Missouri senator said his view could change if “they were to introduce ground troops” but that he “didn’t hear in there any prediction of ground troops”.

“Personally, I would hope for a very swift conclusion, but I don’t know if that’s going to be the case,” he said.

A top United Nations official has called for the protection of civilians in the US-Israel war on Iran, as the UN human rights office calls for an investigation into the deadly bombing of a girls’ school in Iran, Reuters reports.

“Strikes are hitting homes, hospitals, and schools,” said Tom Fletcher, an under-secretary-general at the UN’s humanitarian affairs office. “International law remains the best protector against the vicious cycle of violence and war. We will hold the line, and continue to do all we can.”

Donald Trump has endorsed Aaron Flint, a conservative radio host and veteran running to fill a House of Representatives seat that Ryan Zinke announced yesterday he will vacate at the end of his term.

“Aaron is a MAGA Warrior, who is strongly supported by many of the Greatest America First Patriots in Montana, including Senator Tim Sheehy, Congressmen Ryan Zinke and Troy Downing, and Governor Greg Gianforte, among others!” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform.