Politics
- Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi stopped a meeting with House Democrats on Tuesday night to deliver news that Iran had attacked US forces in Iraq, and somberly told the room to "pray," Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan told outlets.
- Several outlets, including Axios and CNN reported on Pelosi's comments, citing Dingell and other lawmakers who were in the room when news of the attack was discussed.
- Pelosi tweeted on Tuesday night that she was "closely monitoring the situation."
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi stopped a meeting with House Democrats on Tuesday night to deliver news that Iran had attacked US forces in Iraq. She somberly told the room to "pray," Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan who was in the meeting, told news outlets.
Axios and CNN reported on Pelosi's comments, citing Dingell and other lawmakers who were in the room when news of the attack was discussed.
According to CNN's Haley Byrd and Manu Raju, Pelosi was meeting with key House Democrats when she was handed a note with news of the rocket launch. Rep. Dan Kildee of Michigan says she paused the meeting in order to alert the members of the House Steering Committee.
Pelosi told members of the committee to "pray," according to Dingell.
Rep. Ted Lieu of California added that Pelosi expressed that it was a serious time.
Pelosi tweeted on Tuesday night that she was "closely monitoring the situation."
"We must ensure the safety of our service members, including ending needless provocations from the Administration and demanding that Iran cease its violence," she said. "America & world cannot afford war."
On Tuesday night, Iran fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq hosting US and Iraqi military personnel in apparent retaliation for the killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani last week.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has claimed responsibility for the attack. US officials confirmed "it is clear that these missiles were launched from Iran."
The White House press secretary said in a statement that the president was "aware" of the attacks on the Iraqi facilities and that President Donald Trump and his national security team would be "monitoring the situation closely."
- Read more:
- Photos of Iranians flooding the streets for Soleimani's funeral show how much he was revered, and hint at how hard Iran may strike back
- Trump's order to kill Iran's top general has sparked a catastrophe of his own making and left him globally isolated
- Why Iran's Qassem Soleimani was on a not-so-secret trip to Iraq when he was assassinated
- Iran has vowed revenge on the US after Trump's airstrike killed its top military commander. Here's how it could happen.