Graham: 'It’s time to close the chapter on the Ayatollah and his henchmen'

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Thursday night urged President Trump to go “all in” in support of Israel’s war on Iran, telling Fox News host Sean Hannity, “it’s time to close the chapter on the Ayatollah and his henchmen.”

Graham said the U.S. should be willing to fly bunker-busting bombing missions over Iran if that’s what is needed to defeat the Islamic regime. 

“Be all in, President Trump, in helping Israel eliminate the nuclear threat,” he said. “If we need to provide bombs to Israel, provide bombs. If we need to fly planes with Israel, do joint operations."

“But here’s the bigger question. Wouldn’t the world be better off if the ayatollahs went away and were replaced by something better? Wouldn’t Iran be better off?” the GOP senator added. 

Graham later answered his own question. 

“It’s time to close the chapter on the Ayatollah and his henchmen. Let’s close it soon and start a new chapter in the Mideast, one of tolerance, hope, and peace,” he said. 

The South Carolina Republican is among the most reliable military hawks in the Republican party and has long advocated a heavy hand against Iran.

Israel has shown a stunning capacity for targeted strikes over the past week of attacks on Iran, taking out dozens of military commanders and nuclear scientists. However, Israel’s military does not have the massive bunker-busting bombs in the U.S. arsenal, which are capable of destroying Iran’s heavily fortified underground nuclear facilities at Fordow.

Trump is reportedly weighing whether to directly help Israel destroy the facilities, which would drastically set back Iran’s nuclear timeline. 

“Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,” Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social. “I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”

The White House is also talking with Iran about potentially returning to negotiations over its nuclear program — after Iran pulled out of the latest round of talks — according to Axios. 

Iranian officials asked Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman to press Trump to lean on Israel to strike a ceasefire, in exchange for Iranian flexibility in nuclear negotiations, Reuters reported Monday. 

After leaving the Group of Seven (G7) Summit in Canada early, Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Tuesday morning that his special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and Vice President Vance may meet with Iranian officials. 

However, he added he was "not too much in the mood to negotiate" with Iran and not interested in a temporary ceasefire. 

 "We're looking at better than a ceasefire...an end, a real end, not a ceasefire, a real end."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shown no interest in ending its largest-ever aerial assault on Iran, predicting the attacks could continue for weeks. 

Netanyahu told ABC News on Monday that he would not rule out taking out Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, a move that Trump has reportedly opposed. He also dismissed Tehran’s reported diplomatic outreach to the U.S. 

"I'm not surprised. I mean, they want to continue to have these fake talks in which they lie, they cheat, they string the U.S. along. And, you know, we have very solid Intel on that," the prime minister said. 

"They want to keep on building their nuclear weapons and building their mass ballistic missile arsenal, which they're firing at our people," Netanyahu added. "They want to continue to create the two existential threats against Israel while they're talking. That's not going to happen."