South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on Sunday accused Iran of complicity in Hamas’ deadly surprise attack on Israel – and warned Tehran that any escalation of the war would have consequences.
“We are here today to tell Iran: ‘We are watching you. If this war develops, it will come to your backyard,’” Graham said from Tel Aviv while joining a delegation of 10 senators on a trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia.
“There won’t be two lines, there will be three,” he continued, without elaborating on the fiery threat.
“The idea that this happened without Iranian involvement is ludicrous,” Graham added.
Since Hamas’s sneak attack on Israel on Oct. 7, there has been heightened concern that Hezbollah – the Lebanese terrorist group backed by Tehran – is opening a second front in the north.
Israeli officials have threatened to launch a full-scale military strike against Iran if Hezbollah joins the ongoing war.
“Iran’s plan is to attack Israel on all fronts. If we find that they intend to target Israel, we will not only respond to the attack, but we will go to the head of the snake, which is Iran,” Nir Barkat, Israel’s Economy Minister, told the Daily Mail on Friday.
Lindsey Graham has long been a staunch supporter of Israel with a penchant for hanging US troops. AP
Iran-backed Hezbollah is equipped with far more sophisticated missiles than Hamas and is located north of Israel in Lebanon.
Iran, a Shiite-dominated theocracy, has also long been a supporter of Hamas, the Sunni group that rules the Gaza Strip and is designated a terrorist organization by the US.
Last week, Graham, a prominent hawkish foreign policy voice in the GOP, dangled the prospect of US military retaliation against Tehran if Hezbollah plunged into Israel’s simmering war.
“I just got off the phone with the Israelis. “Their goal is to destroy Hamas in the south and try to save as many innocent Palestinians as possible to prevent an escalation northward from Hezbollah,” Graham said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” last Sunday.
Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel if the war against Hamas continues and Israel launches a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. Anadolu via Getty Images An Iranian protester wearing a military uniform burns a US flag and an Israeli flag during an anti-Israel rally. NurPhoto via Getty Images
“This is my message. If Hezbollah, which is a proxy of Iran, launches a massive attack on Israel, I would consider that a threat to the state of Israel, existential in nature,” he continued. “Iran, if you escalate this war, we’re coming for you.”
Other Republican senators tried to play down the comments.
“I think, you know, Senator Graham speaks his own mind on these issues,” Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD) told reporters last week about his threats against Iran.
Thune was among nine other senators who joined Graham on the trip to the Jewish state.
Other senators in the bipartisan delegation include Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) Chris Coons (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Dan Sullivan (R-Alas.) Jack Reed (D-RI), Katie Britt (R-Alab.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Ct.), and Susan Collins (R-Me.)
“We are here today to give Israel what it needs to do the job of destroying the modern version of the Nazis — Hamas,” Graham declared at a press conference Sunday.
He likened Hamas to ISIS and insisted that destroying the terrorist group was “non-negotiable.”
“I’ve never seen anything like this in my life,” Graham continued. “How does this end? Israel thrives, they survive, Hamas is destroyed, the Palestinians have a better life. That’s how this should end.”
Blood is seen splattering in a children’s room following a massive attack by Hamas militants in Kibbutz Nir Oz, Israel.AP
Cardin echoed Graham’s conviction about eliminating Hamas and also expressed support for efforts to restore efforts to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia once the war ends.
“The immediate issue is to make sure Hamas can’t do this again,” he said.
Last week, President Biden visited Israel and delivered a keynote speech from the Oval Office seeking support for an additional package of approximately $106 billion that featured $14.3 billion in support for Israel and $61.4 billion for Ukraine.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
