Graham predicts – Sen. Lindsey Graham said in an interview that President Donald Trump will escalate forcefully if Iran contests American control of the Strait of Hormuz, predicting the administration would take control by force, charge fees for passage, expand the Abraham Acco
Sen. Lindsey Graham’s warning didn’t come wrapped in caution. In an interview on Face the Nation on Sunday. the South Carolina Republican said he expects President Donald Trump to act decisively if Iran challenges U.S. control of the Strait of Hormuz—so decisively, Graham suggested, that it would end with Iran being “obliterate[d].”.
Graham laid out his sequence of expectations after calling the Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and Iran “problematic,” while still arguing that diplomacy should get a chance. “Let’s try a diplomatic solution,” Graham told host Margaret Brennan, adding, “[but] I think it’s going to fail.”.
Then he zeroed in on what he sees as the next step. When Brennan pressed for consequences. Graham answered with his own expectation: he believes Trump will “take the Strait of Hormuz over by force.” In that scenario. he said. the U.S. would control the strait. “we’ll charge a fee for all those who go through to pay for the operation. ” and “we’re going to expand the Abraham Accords” to include Saudi Arabia by the end of 2026.
Graham’s warning escalated sharply at the end. “And if Iran contests control of the Strait of Hormuz by the United States, we will obliterate them,” he added.
The intensity of Graham’s prediction lands in a broader moment of uncertainty about U.S.-Iran posture. The senator said his comments are consistent with his long support for Trump’s Iran hardline. recalling that a month before Operation Epic Fury started. Graham urged Trump to kill Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei—and he also helped get Trump to sign his Make Iran Great Again baseball cap.
Graham’s interview also came as Vice President JD Vance headed to Switzerland on Sunday in an attempt to hammer out a peace deal with Iran.
Earlier Sunday, Trump himself delivered a similarly stark message to Iranian leadership. Trump told Fox News that if Iranian leaders shut down the Strait of Hormuz. they will pay for it with their lives. “You close it. and you won’t have a country. ” Trump told Iranian leaders by phone. according to correspondent Trey Yingst. “You won’t even make it back to your f*cking country.”.
Lindsey Graham Trump Iran Strait of Hormuz Abraham Accords Saudi Arabia JD Vance Switzerland peace talks Operation Epic Fury Ali Khamenei
So is Graham saying Trump should just start charging Iran tolls or what? Sounds crazy.
I don’t even know how anyone’s supposed to read that and not feel terrified. Like obliterate?? Also Vance going to Switzerland for peace while they’re talking like this is messed up.
Wait, didn’t this already happen? Like I remember reading something about the U.S. taking control of that strait before, and Iran ‘tested’ it and then got handled. Maybe this is just the same story with different words.
The part about charging a fee to go through?? That’s gonna make shipping even more expensive and then everyone acts shocked when prices go up. And then the “Abraham Accords” to Saudi like that’s just a business plan… ok.