RICHMOND, Va. — A war of air strikes is impacting millions in the Middle East, and the growing conflict is creating chaos as people attempt to flee the region.
Former CIA officer Joseph Assad said the response from Iran has been swift.
"We have seen an almost immediate response by the Iranians against Israel and against Arab neighbors," Assad said.
Assad said the conflict is also affecting countries that had been considered allies to Iran.
"Countries that were considered to be their allies, to include countries like Qatar and Oman," Assad said.
Assad said the images coming out of the region show the scale of the displacement.
"Some of the images — people are trying to flock out of Dubai. I mean, there are huge lines of cars trying to get out by land. They are — they're at airports trying to get out," Assad said.
With Americans being urged to leave 14 countries across the Middle East, including Qatar, I reached out to VCU to get an update on how students and staff at their art school in Qatar are managing.
In a statement, VCU shared that while there have been no reports of injuries among their students and staff, they have moved to remote learning and working.
VCU cited that while Education City, where their campus is located, is not directly next to the nearest airbase where the missiles are believed to have been directed, the entire Doha area was impacted by the "missile activity, debris and subsequent national safety alert."
VCU added that though no evacuations have taken place in Education City, the Qatar Foundation has suspended all campus activities, including the Education City tram and all events.
The U.S. Department of State says it is facilitating charter flights from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan for American citizens and will continue to secure additional capacity as security conditions allow. Any American who needs help from the U.S. State Department to leave by commercial means can call 1-202-501-4444 or 1-888-407-4747.
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