Lindsey Graham urges Israel to hit Iran ‘hard to regain deterrence’

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is pushing Israel to enact a major attack against Iran , citing the attacks the Jewish state has received within its region.

Graham returned home from a visit to Israel shortly before a Hezbollah attack on an army base killed four Israeli soldiers and injured 60 others . The Pentagon announced Sunday that the U.S. Department of Defense will deploy the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery to provide Israel with air defense, a move Graham spoke favorably of.

“I appreciate what President Biden did by giving the THAAD system, a high-level missile system, to help Israel,” Graham said on Fox News’s Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy. “Israel, I think, soon will hit Iran, and they should. We’ve lost deterrence. Iran’s no longer afraid. Biden and this crowd has lost all deterrence, and if I were Israel, I would hit Iran hard to regain deterrence.”

The South Carolina senator also pushed against calls for a ceasefire between Israel and its opponents, arguing that its enemies also want to destroy the United States. He argued that anyone who does not understand this is “national security stupid.”

Graham also previewed his desire for the Middle East , which includes Arab locals, to work with Israel to isolate Iran. He added that he has visited the Middle East “seven times” to end the conflicts that Israel faces and argued the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by the Hamas terrorist group was done to disrupt the work toward peace.

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“This attack was designed to stop what I’ve been working on and others for a year and a half,” he said. “And if you really want Iran to lose, push a deal between the Arabs and Israelis to make peace. That's what I’ve been trying to do for a year and a half with President Biden.”

Former President Donald Trump argued last week that Israel is “entitled to an attack” on Iran’s nuclear sites , citing the missile attacks it has conducted on Israel this year. Trump has also called for Israel to “get smart” about backing him, arguing the support he gives to the country is “not reciprocal.”