Iran attacks bases housing US troops

In a new statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House Iran war powers resolution will come to the House floor tomorrow. 

Pelosi added: “The House may also soon consider additional legislation on the Floor to keep America safe. This legislation includes Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s resolution to repeal the 2002 Iraq Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) and Congressman Ro Khanna’s legislation to prohibit funding for military action against Iran not authorized by Congress."

Earlier today: President Trump decided to hit Iran with new sanctions in the wake of its attack on two Iraqi military bases housing US troops.

It is unclear what new sanctions will be unveiled and, after years of punishing blockades being built up, what new measures can actually apply pressure on Iran. After the Saudi oilfield attacks, similar sanctions were pledged and experts even then were unclear what impact was left for the US to have on the already beleaguered economy.

The White House released a photo of President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and other officials in the Situation Room last night after the missile attacks.

Earlier today, the White House named the officials who were in the room:

CIA Director Gina Haspel attended the meeting remotely.

As US officials were busy assessing Iran’s missile attacks in Iraq late Tuesday, messages began arriving from Iran saying one thing: We’re done.

There were "multiple messages and they were all the same,” a person familiar with the matter said. Iran wanted to convey their retaliatory action had ended — and was waiting to see how the US would respond.

Iran initiated contact through at least three backchannels starting late Tuesday, including through Switzerland and other countries.

The back-and-forth communication came as American officials were still determining the extent of the Iranian attacks and were formulating plans for a response.

In response, the US sought to communicate to Iran that its proxies in the region were of equal concern as the activities of the Iranian state, the person familiar said.

The National Security Council didn't respond to a request for comment.

Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, had harsh words coming out of the briefing on Iran.

He attacked the briefing and the administration for not providing what he described as any real rationale showing that an imminent attack was being planned. Connolly called it “sophomoric” rationale. 

He added: "I believe there was no rationale that could, could pass a graduate school thesis test." 

Some consideration was given to striking back at Iran last night, a White House official said, but the decision was made to hold off until more information came in regarding Iran's intentions and the conditions on the ground. 

Earlier today, Trump said that Iran appeared to be "standing down."

But he also said "our missiles are big, powerful, accurate, lethal and fast."

President Trump spoke today with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg about "the current situation in the Middle East," the White House said.

In his remarks earlier, Trump said he planned to "ask NATO to become much more involved in the Middle East process."

There appears to be disagreement on the "imminent" nature of the threat Iran and Qasem Soleimani posed to the US, following today's briefing for members of the House of Representatives. 

Mark Meadows, a Republican from North Carolina, disagreed, saying CIA director Gina Haspel provided a briefing that was “exhaustive in terms of the number of attacks and planned attacks that had been contemplated and why the need for action was necessary.”

He argued that Soleimani will be hard for Iran to replace.

Several Democrats rejected the notion that the latest developments in the Iran crisis amounted to a validation of President Trump’s strategy.

“If you ratchet up conflict, then de-escalate, I don’t necessarily think the strategy is a good one — it’s a risky one,” said Sen. Bob Menendez, ranking Democrat on Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, said Trump’s strategy was “absolutely not” validated. 

The United Nations exhaled following President Trump’s speech and comments by Iranian officials. 

“We take note of the statement made by President Trump," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

Dujarric said the UN welcomes any indication that “leaders are walking back from major confrontation” and are trying to avoid escalation.

“We must not forget the terrible human suffering caused by war. As always, ordinary people pay the highest price," the UN spokesperson said.