Sen. Mark Warner Mark Robert WarnerIntelligence chief says Congress will get some in-person election security briefings Overnight Defense: Trump hosts Israel, UAE, Bahrain for historic signing l Air Force reveals it secretly built and flew new fighter jet l Coronavirus creates delay in Pentagon research for alternative to 'forever chemicals' House approves bill to secure internet-connected federal devices against cyber threats MORE (D-Va.), vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee, said Sunday that the Trump administration’s decision to kill Iranian commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani last week could become a “rallying force” for anti-American activity.

Warner, speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” noted the past month of “great pushback” on Iran, not only withiin the country but across the surrounding region in Lebanon and Iraq.

“That anti-Iranian effort now seems to have transformed, as we’ve seen the images and over the last 24 hours, into anti-American activity,” he said.

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“Soleimani could be a rallying force, not only within Iran, but as we may hear later today, even in Iraq where we may be now asked to leave,” he added.

Warner was among lawmakers briefed on the attack Friday, after the strike occurred.

He said that there are still questions the administration needs to answer to explain “how imminent” the threat was ahead of the decision to take out the top commander.

“This was a big thing, one of the top three leaders in Iran,” he said, adding that he has yet to hear the administration explain if they’ve thought through “all those consequences” from the action.

“I'm not sure how we will be seen as both stronger and smarter if we have our Iraqi allies asking us to leave, if our NATO allies don’t feel like they are going to be informed before we take this kind of action, and frankly, if the people in the region that were against the Iranian regime all across the region are now rallying against America,” Warner added.