Senator Lindsey Graham Urges Trump to Attack Iran's Nuclear Facilities

Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator and longtime ally of Donald Trump, called on the new U.S. president to attack Iran's nuclear facilities following a six-week ceasefire in Gaza. In an interview with CBS News on Sunday, January 30, he stated, "The chance of destroying Iran's nuclear program through diplomacy is one in a trillion. But the likelihood of destroying it through military action by Israel with U.S. support is 90 percent." He promised to consult with Trump to leverage the current situation for the "destruction of Iran's nuclear program," asserting that "they (the Iranian government) are very vulnerable." According to Politico, the current assessment in Washington political circles is that the Islamic Republic of Iran is effectively on the brink of achieving military nuclear capability, and this Republican senator believes diplomatic efforts cannot prevent Iran from progressing towards nuclear weapon production. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump is considering airstrikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. Some experts believe that, influenced by the war between Israel and the extremist group Hamas in Gaza, Israel's extensive military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and its air and missile strikes against Iranian military targets this past October, the Islamic Republic has been significantly weakened. Following the U.S. unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018, Trump imposed severe sanctions on Iran to prevent the development of its nuclear program and its approach to nuclear weapon production. It seems that the policy of maximum pressure and severe sanctions against Iran will also be implemented during Trump's second term. However, some experts argue that it may be too late to use these tools to prevent nuclear weapon production. Senator Lindsey Graham has consistently, especially during the war between Israel and Hamas, been a supporter and advocate for severe punitive actions against Iran. In another part of his CBS interview, he stated, "The Islamic Republic is a Nazi religious regime. They want to destroy the Jewish state. Their other goal is Islamic annihilation and driving America out of the region." This Republican politician further claimed, "Using diplomacy with Iran is like negotiating with Hitler. I hope that military action by Israel, with U.S. support, will lead to the destruction of Iran's nuclear program. If we don't do this, it will be a historical mistake." Lindsey Graham also praised Trump's role in the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, adding, "Let me emphasize that if Donald Trump had not insisted on achieving this agreement, the ceasefire would not have happened."