WASHINGTON — Alabama’s congressional Republicans have framed the U.S.-Israeli military strikes in Iran as a necessary operation to cripple the leading state sponsor of terrorism as Trump administration officials head to Capitol Hill to brief lawmakers.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with top congressional leaders Monday to offer details on the strikes and what comes next for military operations in the Middle East. In comments to reporters before the briefing, Rubio defended the strikes to “proactively” prevent Iran from attacking U.S. bases in the region after an Israeli strike.
“There absolutely was an imminent threat, and the imminent threat was that we knew that if Iran was attacked, and we believed they would be attacked, that they would immediately come after us, and we were not going to sit there and absorb a blow before we responded,” Rubio said.
The strikes over the weekend follow last summer’s “Operation Midnight Hammer,” when U.S. troops struck Iran’s nuclear facilities, in which President Donald Trump declared the nuclear capabilities “obliterated.”
During a Medal of Honor ceremony Monday, Trump said the attacks on Iran were a response to Iran’s “conventional ballistic missile program,” which “was growing rapidly and dramatically and this posed a very clear, colossal threat to America and our forces stationed overseas.”
Administration officials will brief all senators and members of Congress Tuesday.
Alabama’s Republican federal lawmakers have all shown support for the operation in Iran. At least six U.S. service members have been killed in the conflict.
“Iran’s nuclear ambitions, ballistic missile capabilities, and funding of proxy terror groups pose a sustained and clear threat to our nation, to our military bases and citizens in the region, and to our allies,” U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., said on social media. “This is a defining moment of generational leadership from President Trump to achieve sustainable peace.”
Trump has campaigned on and urged for an end to “endless wars” over the years. So, the latest operation in Iran, which Trump said could last “four to five weeks,” is sparking backlash from some of the president’s most ardent supporters.
In an interview with ABC News, Tucker Carlson said the strikes were “absolutely disgusting and evil” and would “shuffle the deck in a profound way.”
But U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said Trump’s moves were squarely in line with his political movement.
“Iran has been waging war against the United States for YEARS,” Tuberville said in a post on X. “MAGA doesn’t mean isolationism — it’s about standing up to the terrorists who chant “death to America.”
House Armed Services Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Saks, praised Trump for taking “decisive action” to combat the threats from Iran.
“As the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, Iran and its proxies are responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans, and its expanding ballistic missile capabilities continue to increase the threat it poses throughout the region and beyond,” Rogers said in a statement.
“Most importantly, Iran’s recent efforts to reconstitute its nuclear program cannot be allowed to succeed, as a nuclear-armed Iran would pose an unacceptable danger to the United States, our allies, and global security,” he added.
While Democrats acknowledged the threat posed by Iran, most Democratic lawmakers denounced the Trump administration for failing to receive congressional approval before conducting the strikes.
“Iran has oppressed their people and supported terrorism in the region for decades,” Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, said in a statement. “This fact does not change the President’s obligations under the Constitution to work with Congress on military actions that put our troops in harm’s way and could drag our country into another prolonged war in the Middle East.”
The House and Senate are expected to take up a war powers vote this week, aimed at curbing U.S. military operations in Iran.
The strikes on Iran come during the third week of the Department of Homeland Security shutdown and have led to renewed calls from Republicans, including Britt, to fund the department that helps keep Americans safe.
“DHS plays a critical role in defending against various threats to our homeland including cyberattacks, potential retaliatory terrorism, and disinformation campaigns,” Britt said on X.