Senior Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, considered one of President Donald Trump’s closest allies, laid out an aggressive and unprecedented approach to the Middle East and the confrontation with Iran today (Sunday). In an interview with CBS, Graham predicted current diplomatic efforts with Tehran are doomed to fail and sketched out what he called the “contingency plan” that would be implemented if talks collapse.
1+“We’re going to try to find a diplomatic solution, but I estimate it will fail,” Graham said at the outset. “The big question is what happens the day after that failure.” Graham noted he spent about four and a half hours with Trump last Friday, and that his remarks reflect the spirit of the planned policy.
According to Graham, the American response to a collapse in negotiations won’t be limited to economic sanctions, but will involve a dramatic military and economic move at the heart of the world’s most important shipping route. “If this deal fails, President Trump will seize control of the Strait of Hormuz by force,” the senator declared. “The United States will manage the strait and charge a toll on every vessel that passes through it. That money will be used to fund the military operation itself.”
1+Graham didn’t stop there, issuing a direct threat to the regime in Tehran: “To anyone listening—if Iran challenges American control of the Strait of Hormuz, we will simply destroy them. The new policy will be clear: if Iran continues to attack Israel and Lebanon, we will strike Iran directly.”
Alongside the military threats, Graham presented a political vision based on expanding the Abraham Accords. According to him, the goal is to bring Saudi Arabia into the normalization circle and end the Arab-Israeli conflict during 2026. “This is the move that will change the face of the region, while we deal with the Iranian threat with a strong hand,” he explained.
Graham’s remarks come at a particularly sensitive time. Right now, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance is at a resort near Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, conducting a round of talks with top Iranian officials. The meetings include Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. According to reports, the talks are being actively mediated by Pakistan and Qatar.