The longtime Iran hawk said that he agrees with the Trump administration’s assessment of Iran’s degraded military capacity.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a longtime Iran hawk, said that he agrees with President Donald Trump’s assessment that Iran’s military has been significantly degraded by U.S. strikes against the country, rebuffing claims that Tehran has become stronger after a memorandum of understanding was hashed out between the two countries this week.
“Completely agree with President Trump’s analysis that Iran’s capability to generate another October 7 or continue to be the largest state sponsor of terrorism on the planet has been massively degraded,” Graham wrote in a statement posted to X on Friday.
He said that “those who say Iran is stronger now than before” are effectively insulting the U.S. military’s ability, adding that Iran’s economy is “in shambles.” He was responding to a social media post made by Trump in which he said that Iran lacks a navy, air force, and other necessary equipment needed to defend itself.
Graham called on Trump to reach a “diplomatic solution” to deal with Iran’s nuclear program, which Trump has said must be ended.
“The day diplomacy is off the table will present America and our allies with some very stark choices,” he wrote. “In the meantime, as we pursue diplomacy, make it crystal clear that Israel will not have to tolerate being attacked by Iranian proxies who cause parts of Israel to be uninhabitable.”
For years, Graham has been a prominent advocate of aggressive U.S. foreign policy toward Iran, primarily centered around preventing Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and supporting regime change. In 2010, for example, he called for the U.S. military to launch preemptive strikes against Iran to weaken the regime, and he’s continued to call for military action against the country ever since.
Trump reposted a screenshot of Graham’s comment on his account, later writing in a separate post that he considers Graham a “wonderful friend” and praising his efforts in the Senate.
Earlier this week, the United States and Iran signed off on a memorandum of understanding, or MOU, that ends fighting between the two and reopens the Strait of Hormuz. The memorandum provides a 60-day window that will allow for the two sides to finalize an agreement, but the MOU also includes a demand that Iran give up or dilute its highly enriched uranium and end its nuclear program, which has long been a key source of tension between Iran and the West.
