WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Sen. Mark Warner (D-Virginia) was in Williamsburg Monday morning, where he held a town hall with William and Mary students about the war with Iran and other national issues.
“I think everyone does," said Caroline Gyure, when asked if she has concerns since fighting broke out between the U.S. and Iran.
Gyure was one of dozens who attended the town hall in a William and Mary lecture hall with Sen. Warner.
“These are their lives. They probably have friends who are in the military right now who may be on the frontlines," Warner said of the students who came out.
After fielding questions from students, Warner spoke with reporters about the conflict with Iran, which broke out Saturday and has since seen the U.S. and Israel trading deadly missile strikes with Iran.
Warner, who's Vice Chair of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, took to social media over the weekend, where he acknowledged Iranian leadership's support of terrorism, nuclear ambitions and political repression of its people, but also questioned whether the Trump administration's strikes were lawful and criticized the administration's strategy.
He echoed those statements on Monday.
"I think it’s important that the president answer how this was in America’s security interest to put our troops in harm’s way," he said. "I saw no intelligence that indicated there was an imminent threat.”
But, according to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, also referred to as Secretary of War, Iranian activity warranted the strikes.
“Iran was building powerful missiles and drones to create a conventional shield for their nuclear blackmail ambitions," he said during a press briefing Monday morning.
The briefing also included the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Dan Caine, who revealed more about the strategy behind the strike on Iran, known as Operation Epic Fury. Caine also addressed the extended deployment of the Norfolk-based U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group.
The aircraft carrier was nearly eight months into its deployment when it was moved from the Caribbean to stage in the Middle East.
“The ship, her crew, their families and the entire strike group took a deep breath and as they always do, began planning to conduct combat operations," said Gen. Caine.
But Warner says he's concerned about those sailors and their families too, telling News 3 he's spoken with local military families unsure about how long their loved ones will be away.
“We’re putting such incredible additional stress and Hampton Roads is ground zero since the majority of those sailors deployed out of Norfolk," he said.
The Warner visit comes as military facilities around Hampton Roads are beefing up their security in light of the Iran conflict and possible attempts to attack the country from within.
Both Naval Station Norfolk and Naval Medical Center Portsmouth put out notices Monday saying they were suspending the "Trusted Traveler" program, meaning visitors had to obtain a visitor pass from a Pass and ID office and be escorted on base with a sponsor.
In reaching out to other local bases about if and how they're increasing security, they told News 3 to reachout to U.S. Central Command. We'll give updates as we learn more information.
