Warner receives ‘hundreds’ of phone calls from Virginians stranded abroad amid Iran conflict

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Thousands of Americans are still stuck abroad, currently unable to evacuate the Middle East and clinging for answers on how they can return home safely.

That number is according to U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.), adding that Virginians have overwhelmingly called his office for answers, most coming from transient fliers in Dubai, UAE and Doha, Qatar.

"I think it's in the hundreds now," Warner said on Thursday in a virtual briefing.

Additionally, Warner criticized the Trump administration for having no apparent evacuation plan in place before the U.S. and Israel bombed Iran on Saturday.

"You would think that someone would have thought about 'Well, we got hundreds of thousands of Americans in the Middle East. We ought to plan in advance to either get them out before the war starts, or have plenty of plans available to get them out once the conflict is started,'" he said during Thursday's briefing.

Answering whether an evacuation plan was in place this week, President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office "it happened all very quickly." He claims that necessary actions were taken to prevent Iran launching missiles targeting American soil.

"It was my opinion that they were going to attack first. They were going to attack if we didn't do it," Trump told reporters on Monday.

ABC News reports 20,000 Americans have returned to the U.S. While it's unclear how many are yet to return, the U.S. Department of State is urging for Americans in 14 countries to leave.

"Secretary Rubio did indicate in a briefing, I believe, [Wednesday] that they were trying to fly more planes into the region," Warner said.

Some Iranian Americans and supporters have said they are happy to see leadership of the current Iranian leadership killed. During his virtual briefing, Warner said the now dead Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had American blood on his hands.

Warner and other lawmakers say they are still concerned over congressional approval, saying President Trump should make his case for armed conflict in front of members of Congress.