"We were thinking about this early, early on about how Iran is a spoiler for expanding the Abraham Accords and stability in the Mideast. I told him before he took office ... if you can collapse this terrorist regime, that's Berlin Wall stuff."
"Trump's decision to go to war was the latest indication that hawkish voices he once publicly resisted - none louder than Graham's - have dominated his second-term decisionmaking. It was also a full-circle moment for the veteran GOP senator, who has spent decades pushing administration after administration to take military action against Iran with no success until now."
"He described a 'real contest' within the administration about whether or not Trump should take military action to end a geopolitical rivalry 47 years in the making. Another person with knowledge of the internal debate said that, within the administration, the idea of striking Iran had very few vocal backers other than U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee."
Senator Lindsey Graham played a pivotal role in influencing President Trump's decision to launch military operations against Iran's nuclear and missile programs. Graham had consistently advocated for military action against Iran across multiple administrations, viewing the regime as a destabilizing force in the Middle East and an obstacle to expanding the Abraham Accords. Internal administration debates occurred regarding whether to pursue military action, with few vocal supporters beyond Ambassador Mike Huckabee. Graham leveraged both public advocacy through media appearances and private lobbying to advance his position. The military operation ultimately proceeded, representing a significant victory for Graham's long-standing hawkish stance on Iran policy.
#iran-military-operations #trump-administration-policy #senator-graham-lobbying #middle-east-geopolitics #nuclear-and-missile-programs
Read at POLITICO
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]