US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a senior Republican voice on foreign affairs, visited Lebanon and Israel this week, pressing a hard line on Hezbollah and voicing strong support for Israel’s war against Hamas.
Graham described Lebanon’s announcement that disarming Hezbollah is a “national goal” as an important first step – but warned that words must be followed by action in a Thursday interview with The Jerusalem Post.
"Hezbollah is not just a Lebanese problem. It’s a world problem. Hezbollah has American blood on its hands, and they need to go," he says, referring to the plan to dismantle Hezbollah that the Lebanese government will present next.
“The Lebanese military is going to present a plan for disarmament. Time will tell if it can be accomplished politically,” Graham said, noting that without such a step, “the country is frozen in time. It can never go forward.”
While expressing hope for a peaceful solution, the senator stressed that the US and Israel must ensure there is “a credible threat” of force. “If the day comes that you have to do it by force, the Lebanese Armed Forces will need partners – and I think it’s in America’s interest to make sure Hezbollah is disarmed,” he stated.
The senator, who met this week with senior Lebanese officials including the prime minister and president, said there was there's no hope of attracting American business investment or having any major support for the country economically or militarily until there's a real plan to disarm Hezbollah that's being implemented.
Graham expresses strong defense of Israel’s campaign - with a caveat
Turning to Israel’s war in Gaza, Graham compared it to America’s fight in World War II. “Nobody suggested to the United States that we went too far in trying to defeat the Japanese and the Germans. Israel is surrounded by terrorist groups that wish to kill all the Jews. The idea that Israel is somehow inappropriately responding tells me that the world doesn’t see this as an existential threat to the Jewish state.”
He condemned European countries that are pushing for recognition of a Palestinian state. “What are the borders? Who’s in charge? Will they have a military? None of those questions are being asked. It’s just political posturing that emboldens Hamas and makes the war go on longer,” he warned.
However, Graham also cautioned Israel to pay attention to shifts in American politics. “Democrats voted overwhelmingly to stop arms transfers to Israel. Even some Republicans are now accusing Israel of genocide. That should be taken seriously into account", he said, adding that defeating Hamas is “non-negotiable” but must be done as soon as possible to allow discussions about the post-war regional order.
“My hope is that by the end of this year, Hamas and Hezbollah will both have been neutered as effective proxies of Iran. Then in 2026, we can start a serious conversation about integrating Israel into the region and providing Palestinians with a better future – but without Hamas,” he said.
"Hopefully, we can pick up normalization with Saudi Arabia. But that can't happen as long as there's major military operations going on", the senator empathized.
Looking ahead at Lebanon and Syria
On Syria, Graham signaled cautious openness to easing sanctions under the Caesar Act – but only with snapback provisions.
He expressed concern about Turkish influence and the ability of extremist groups to operate in rebel-held areas.
"What I worry about is what role Turkey is going to play in this new Syria. I'm worried about how much control Al-Shara has over these ISIS-type groups. We saw in Sweda that the ability of the central government to protect minorities is very limited".
"I think Lebanon is much further down the road to integration than Syria", the senator says, "And the better outcome for Lebanon, it might convince people in Syria that's the best way to go."