By Gloria Ogbonna
During a Friday appearance on Fox News Channel’s “Special Report,” Senator Lindsey Graham sharply criticized past U.S. policy toward Iran, arguing that the approaches taken by former Secretary of State John Kerry, former President Barack Obama, and former President Joe Biden had ultimately failed to prevent Tehran from advancing its nuclear and missile programs.
Speaking about rising tensions in the region, Graham emphasized the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint through which a significant portion of the world’s oil supply passes. He said he had discussed the matter directly with President Donald Trump, stressing that the United States cannot allow what he described as a “terrorist state” to control such a vital international waterway.
“We cannot allow Iran to control navigable waters,” Graham said, arguing that the strait is essential not only to the United States but particularly to European energy security.
He stated that Trump had drawn clear “red lines,” including preventing Iran from obtaining ballistic missiles, stopping it from maintaining large stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, and ensuring it does not move closer to building a nuclear weapon. According to Graham, those red lines are “reasonable” and necessary for global stability.
Graham rejected criticism that recent U.S. actions toward Iran amounted to a “war of choice,” instead contending that Iran was only weeks away from possessing enough enriched uranium to produce multiple nuclear weapons.
He claimed that Tehran had accumulated uranium enriched to 60 percent purity — far above the 3.5 percent enrichment level typically associated with civilian nuclear energy programs.
He argued that there is “no peaceful purpose” for uranium enriched to that level and warned that at such a rate, Iran could be just two to three weeks away from producing material sufficient for eight to ten nuclear bombs.
According to Graham, the policies pursued during the Obama administration, led diplomatically by John Kerry, and later under the Biden administration, failed to stop Iran’s nuclear progress. He asserted that Iran had violated enrichment limits and continued developing missile capabilities despite previous agreements intended to restrain those activities.
“So Trump had to act,” Graham said, maintaining that previous administrations allowed Iran to expand its missile program and nuclear enrichment efforts without facing sufficient consequences. He added that, in his view, those policies enabled Tehran to “get away with murder” regarding its military and nuclear ambitions.
Graham concluded by signaling that what he described as a new, tougher posture toward Iran marks the end of what he sees as years of insufficient enforcement and diplomatic leniency.
Source breitbart
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