Prior to the United States joining forces with Israel to bomb Iran, two private planes landed Friday at Tulsa International Airport carrying 21 local church members evacuated from the Middle East.
Republican U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District said he helped organize their return from Israel after family members began reaching out.
“Spouses and family members started calling, checking with our office, asked if we could help,” he told reporters on the tarmac shortly after landing. Hern accompanied the group from Tampa, Florida.
A total of 40 people were in the group with some still trying to return to the States, according to Pastor Tom Harrison.
“We’re just glad we’re home,” Harrison said.
Tensions have been rising in the Middle East since Israel launched a June 12 preemptive attack on Iran.
Israeli forces targeted suspected nuclear weapons facilities and killed top Iranian military leaders. Iran retaliated with its own missile strikes.
On Saturday, U.S. forces joined Israel in attacks.
When asked about the escalating conflict, Hern stood firmly with the Israelis.
“We do not want the Ayatollah to have a nuclear weapon,” he said. “We’re going to do everything we can to support that not ever happening.”
Hern said there was “confirmation” from the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran gathered sufficient resources to build a nuclear weapon. However, IAEA officials have made back-and-forth statements on Iran’s capabilities.
The Associated Press reports IAEA confirmed Iran is producing highly enriched uranium at Fordo, one of the sites struck by the U.S.
Before Israel’s strikes, the agency said Iran had undertaken nuclear implosion tests. The Jerusalem Post reported that conclusion was largely based on intelligence from the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence force.
During a June 17 interview with Christiane Amanpour, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said his agency “did not have any proof of a systematic effort to move into a nuclear weapon.”
U.S. intelligence agencies have also assessed that Tehran is not pursuing a nuclear bomb, according to the AP.
The strikes on Iran coincide with Israel’s military operation in Gaza, where drone operations and artillery fire continue as people are killed seeking food aid.
When asked whether Americans should have been traveling to Israel at all given the country’s ongoing war efforts, Hern said attacks from Iran added new danger.
“The Gaza environment was really about rockets, short-range rockets, something that the Iron Dome was able to protect against,” he said. “Ballistic missiles are something completely different.”
