Qatar closed its airspace Monday, and witnesses reported hearing explosions and seeing possible missiles in the sky, shortly before Iran said it had begun an operation against a U.S. base in the country.
Iran announced the attack on state television, with a caption describing the retaliatory strikes as “a mighty and successful response by the armed forces of Iran to America’s aggression.”
The Doha airport closure came several hours after the U.S. and United Kingdom urged their citizens in the energy-rich nation to shelter in place without elaborating, according to the Associated Press.
Earlier Monday, the Trump administration expressed confidence that Saturday’s bombings of nuclear sites in Iran did the job of dismantling Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
“This strike on Saturday did make our homeland safer because it took away Iran’s ability to create a nuclear bomb. This is a regime that threatens ‘death to America,’ and ‘death to Israel, and they no longer have the capability to build this nuclear weapon and threaten the world,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told ABC News on Monday morning.
As assessments of the damage done to the three sites — Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz — continue, the world awaits Iran’s response to the U.S. strikes.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi was in Moscow on Monday, meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia said it is ready to aid Iran.
Back in D.C., Senate Republicans face a crucial stretch in moving Trump’s agenda forward, with the “big, beautiful” tax-and-spending bill expected to hit the floor by midweek. The Senate parliamentarian is assessing the legislation and approving, or in some cases knocking down, provisions that will allow it a fast-tracked vote.
In the House, the annual budgeting process begins, ahead of the fiscal year’s end on Sept. 30.
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