Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina stressed Sunday that the future of Iran following the joint U.S.-Israel military strike that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will be up to the citizens of the Persian nation and that American troops would not be sent into the country.
Mr. Graham was emphatic that it is not the United States’ job to choose Iran’s next leader, but he also made clear the Trump administration would not simply walk away and hope for the best.
“The goal is not only to help the Iranian people to chart a new destiny, [but] to make sure no matter who takes over in Iran, no matter who it is, no matter who the people pick, they cannot become the largest state sponsor of terrorism,” the South Carolina Republican said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “They can’t have ballistic missiles, they can’t have a nuclear weapon. They will be out of the terrorism business.”
Mr. Graham was equally blunt about ground troops. “There will be no American boots on the ground,” he said. “This is not Iraq, this is not Germany, this is not Japan.”
Mr. Graham has been a steadfast supporter of Israel and has long warned of the dangers posed by Ayatollah Khamenei and Iran’s theocratic regime.
Mr. Trump, in a post Saturday on Truth Social, said the onus will be on Iranians to fill the power vacuum created by the ayatollah’s death.
“Hopefully, the IRGC and Police will peacefully merge with the Iranian Patriots, and work together as a unit to bring back the Country to the Greatness it deserves,” Mr. Trump posted.
Pressed on whether hope is the strategy, Mr. Graham pushed back but did not offer specifics.
“No,” he said. “The future of Iran is going to be determined by the Iranian people. The new Iran, whatever it is, whether it’s a cleric, or a representative democracy, our goal is to make sure it cannot become again the largest state sponsor of terrorism. That’s a win for us. That’s a win for the region.”
