Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Tuesday urged Israel to consider destroying Iran's oil facilities and to continue striking Houthi terrorists in Yemen.
On Monday, Israeli fighter jets conducted a wave of airstrikes on Yemen's Hudaydah Port, a day after the Houthis, an Iran-backed group, launched a ballistic missile that struck near Israel's main international airport, wounding six.
"To my friends in Israel, do what you have to do to protect your airspace and your people. It is long past time to consider hitting Iran hard. It wouldn't take much to put Iran out of the oil business," Graham tweeted.
Graham's comments follow President Donald Trump's Oval Office announcement on Tuesday that the United States would halt strikes on the Houthis as the group had "agreed to stop interrupting important shipping lanes in the Middle East."
The president said the Houthis had approached the administration on Monday night after a nearly two-month bombing campaign against the group.
"They said please don't bomb us anymore, and we're not going to attack your ships," the president continued. "I will accept their word, and we are going to stop the bombing of the Houthis effective immediately."
Graham expressed his satisfaction that the Houthis had agreed not to attack American vessels.
"As to the Houthis continuing to attack Israel — they do so at Iran's own peril," Graham said. "Without Iran, the Houthis do not possess the capability to attack America, international shipping or Israel."
Graham has been urging Trump, who has entered into diplomatic talks with Iran to dismantle its nuclear program, to allow Israel to attack the Islamic Republic.
There is "zero chance" there will be a nuclear pact with Iran that would convince Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to abandon his ambitions to build the bomb, Graham told Fox News' Brian Kilmeade on March 4.
In February, Graham led a bipartisan U.S. Senate delegation to Israel, which met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The main topic of the meeting was Iran.
"Iran with a nuke is a nightmare for the Jewish state; it's a nightmare for the world because Arabs will want a nuclear weapon of their own, and you'll have a nuclear arms race," Graham told the press at the time.
"[Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] and his regime are hell-bent on three things: purifying Islam in their own image … destroying the Jewish state and driving every Westerner out of the Mideast," he said.
"So every decision I make as a senator in this region is to make sure their nuclear ambitions are never met," he concluded.
This JNS.org report was republished with permission from Jewish News Syndicate.
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