OAN Staff Blake Wolf
9:22 AM – Monday, December 22, 2025
During a trip to Israel, GOP warhawk Senator Lindsey Graham warned about Iran’s desire to rebuild its nuclear program, while calling on President Donald Trump to “unleash Israel” on Hamas if the terror group refuses to disarm.
Speaking from Tel Aviv on Sunday morning after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Graham (R-S.C.) warned that Hamas has no intention of adhering to President Trump’s peace proposal and is instead regrouping for renewed violence.
“What did I learn on this trip? That Hamas is not disarming. They’re rearming. Hamas is not abandoning power. They’re consolidating power,” Graham stated.
“That’s what the military intelligence people in Israel tell me. That’s what the IDF told me. That’s what our own people told me,” he continued.
Graham said he supports President Trump’s peace deal but appeared increasingly impatient with the lack of progress on establishing the International Stabilization Force, a central element of phase two of the proposal.
“I am all for a stabilizing force,” Graham stated. “I’m all for board of peace. But you can’t have a board of peace, you can’t have a stabilizing force in Gaza until Hamas is disarmed.”
“They’re not being disarmed. There’s nobody coming over the horizon to disarm them. So I would urge President Trump to meet with Prime Minister [Netanyahu] next week and come up with a plan.”
Graham went on to suggest that President Trump “put Hamas on a time clock. If they don’t turn over their weapons and stop rearming at a date certain, I would unleash Israel on them. That’s what I would do.”
“I think it’s going to come down to Israel to do that unless there’s a changing event on the ground. I see no effort by Hamas to voluntarily disarm. I see no effort for them to give up power, quite the opposite,” he added.
Additionally, Graham spoke about his belief that Iran is rebuilding its nuclear enrichment and ballistic missile program, following the destruction of the infrastructure during the Twelve-Day War over the summer.
During the Twelve-Day War, the United States and Israel struck Iranian ballistic missile production facilities and nuclear enrichment infrastructure, which President Trump described as “total obliteration.”
“I’m going to let the Israelis talk to President Trump about it, but here’s what I learned on my trip: We obliterated their nuclear facilities, but we did not obliterate their desire to have a bomb,” Graham stated.
“Have they tried to open up enrichment in other areas? I think they may have,” he continued. “Are they trying to rebuild their ballistic missile force to overwhelm the Iron Dome? I believe they are.”
If Iran is indeed rebuilding its ballistic missile program, “it’d be in our national interest to hit them now,” Graham added.
Graham’s comments come as Netanyahu is reportedly setting plans to meet with President Trump to pitch joint strike operations against Iran.
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