Republican Senator Lindsey Graham issued a threat to Iran if it does anything to escalate the Israel-Hamas war, “we are coming for you.”
During an appearance on Sunday’s edition of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Anchor Kristen Welker asked Graham:
“Let me ask you about Iran, Senator. The broader region, you say the only way to keep the war from escalating is to hold Iran accountable and part of what you’re talking about now and that it might mean bombing their oil refineries.”
Graham said:
“Yeah.”
Welker continued:
“Have you had discussions with the Biden administration about this?”
Graham responded:
“A bit. I want to applaud President Biden for his strong statement in support of Israel.”
“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 escalation north from Hezbollah.”
“Here’s 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,” Lindsey Graham said.
“I’ll introduce a resolution in the United States Senate to allow military action by the United States in conjunction with Israel to knock Iran out of the oil business.”
“Iran, if you escalate this war, we are coming for you,” Graham continued.
Welker asked:
“Are you effectively poised to declare war on Iran? That’s very strong language.”
Graham said:
“I am poised to use military force to destroy the source of funding for Hamas and Hezbollah.”
“The idea that Iran read about this operation in the paper or on television is laughable. 93% of Hezbollah and Hamas’ money comes from Iran,” he said.
“They’re the source of the problem. They’re the great evil.”
“So if Hezbollah escalates against Israel, it would be because Iran told them to.”
Watch
Q: “Are you effectively poised to declare war on Iran?”
— ALX 🎃 (@alx) October 16, 2023
LINDSEY: GRAHAM: “I am poised to use military force to destroy the source of funding for Hamas and Hezbollah.”
pic.twitter.com/Y2SRWy8COj
Aljazeera reported that Iran warned Israel of regional escalation if the Israeli military enters Gaza for a ground invasion as the war with Hamas enters its second week.
“If the measures aimed at immediately stopping the Israeli attacks that are killing children in the Gaza Strip end in a deadlock, it is highly probable that many other fronts will be opened. This option is not ruled out and this is becoming increasingly more probable,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told Al Jazeera on Sunday.
“If the Zionist entity [Israel] decides to enter Gaza, the resistance leaders will turn it into a graveyard of the occupation soldiers,” he added.
At least 1,400 people, including 289 soldiers and some foreign nationals, have been killed on the Israeli side, officials said on Sunday.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called on all Islamic nations to come to the aid of the Palestinians.
With God’s grace, this movement that has started in #Palestine will advance and result in a complete victory for the Palestinians.
— Khamenei Media (@Khamenei_m) October 14, 2023
Imam Khamenei
Oct. 14, 2023 pic.twitter.com/euuXmBfV7G
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