Sen. Graham Warns Iran: If Gaza War Grows, It's Coming To You
US Senator Lindsey Graham on Sunday accused Iran of involvement in the October 7 Hamas attack and warned that any escalation of the war could exact a cost from Tehran.
US Senator Lindsey Graham on Sunday accused Iran of involvement in the October 7 Hamas attack and warned that any escalation of the war could exact a cost from Tehran.
"We're here today to tell Iran: 'We're watching you. If this war grows, it's coming to your backyard,'" Graham starkly warned during a visit to Tel Aviv, without elaborating on what that meant.
Although the warning seemed to be directed at the Lebanese Hezbollah, which can open a northern front against Israel, any such decision needs to be approved by Tehran, the backer of all Arab militant groups in the region.
"The idea that this happened without Iranian involvement is laughable," Graham said in what was a rebuttal to the Biden administration that after the Hamas attack said there is no direct evidence of Iran’s involvement.
Although President Joe Biden has acknowledged Iran’s continuous support for Hamas and Hezbollah, he said last week that “Iran constantly supports Hamas and Hezbollah …. [but] did they have foreknowledge, did they help plan the attack, there’s no evidence of that at this point.”
Last week, speaking on NBC News Sen. Graham had issued a warning to Iran. He vowed to introduce a resolution in the Senate to allow “military action by the United States in conjunction with Israel to knock Iran out of the oil business.”
The Iranian regime has praised Hamas for its “heroic” attack, denying that the militants killed civilians, and pledging to continue support. Some Iranian hardliner lawmakers have even threatened direct involvement and the closure of the Hormuz Strait in the Persian Gulf if the United States directly intervenes to support Israel.
While he said the meeting was a follow up to the recent visit of President Ebrahim Raisi to South Africa in addition to discussions on bilateral relations, he used it as a chance to rally support under the banner of apartheid amid a battle against terror which threatens to become an Iran-driven proxy war.
Touching on the old wound of apartheid, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told a press conference after meeting his counterpart Naledi Pandor: “Mr [Nelson] Mandela is widely recognized as a symbol of the struggle against apartheid, especially today, when the world witnesses the massacre by the illegitimate Israeli regime against the resilient and oppressed people of Gaza.”
Apartheid by its definition is a policy of segregation on the grounds of race or religion, as was seen in the black versus white policies of South Africa. In Israel, a multitude of faiths live together including Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze and Baha’i.
Continuing the war cry, which has been loud and clear from the foreign minister and a wealth of other regime officials from the Supreme Leader and President to lawmakers, he once again warned of the explosive nature of the war declared by Hamas on October 7, which has incurred brutally devastating airstrikes in retaliation from Israel.
”From this tribune, I declare that today the region is like a powder keg,” said Amir-Abdollahian. “Any miscalculation in continuing the genocide and compulsory displacement can have serious and bitter consequences, both in the region and against the interests of warmongers,” referring to Iran’s multitude of proxies around the region baying for blood.
It comes just days after Pandor spoke with Hamas’ political head, Ismail Haniyeh, who rules from Turkey and Qatar. She told him of “South Africa’s solidarity and support” for the Palestinian people and “expressed sadness and regret for the loss of innocent lives on both sides”, causing domestic backlash from the South African Jewish community which accused her of siding with the terror proxy.
Fearing Iranian interference, the US and UK have mobilized warships and support for Israel after the attacks of October 7 which left at least 1,400 civilians dead and has seen over 300 more soldiers killed.
Israel’s harsh response as it vows to wipe out Hamas, has led to thousands more Palestinians dead and around 750,000 displaced as the proxy’s war continues to strangle the people of Gaza.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Sunday that after detailed discussions with President Joe Biden on recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the Middle East, he had directed a series of additional steps to further strengthen the Department of Defense posture in the region.
In the announcement on X, he said: “These steps will bolster regional deterrence efforts, increase force protection for U.S. forces in the region, and assist in the defense of Israel. I will continue to assess our force posture requirements in the region and consider deploying additional capabilities as necessary.”
While airstrikes in Gaza continued to target Hamas infrastructure and leadership, buried deep in civilian heartland from mosques to hospitals, in neighbouring Syria, where Iran has a military presence, Damascus and Aleppo international airports were hit once again in the early hours of Sunday, putting both out of service and killing two workers.
A key route for Iranian weaponry and other military shipments into the region, disabling Syrian infrastructure has been an ongoing shadow war for Israel in its battle to keep its borders safe from Iran. During Sunday morning’s Israel Defence Forces press briefing, its spokesman typically claimed he could not comment.
On Israel’s northern border, further clashes came from Iran’s biggest regional proxy, Hezbollah, which had terrorists killed during attempted infiltrations and attempted UAV and anti-tank missiles fired during Sunday.
It has become the most deadly escalation between Israel and Lebanon since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. Hezbollah said four fighters were killed in heavy exchanges of fire on Sunday and another died of wounds sustained earlier, raising to 24 the number of its members killed since October 7.
Lebanese security sources said 11 fighters with Palestinian militant groups in Lebanon had also been killed in the volatile border region, alongside four civilians. At least five Israeli soldiers and one civilian have been killed on Israel's side of the frontier, according to Israeli military reports.
A further 14 villages have also been evacuated and 120,000 Israelis from both north and south are now in evacuation facilities.
The draft text calls for the protection of civilians - including those who are trying to get to safety - notes that states must comply with international law when responding to "terrorist attacks", and urges the "continuous, sufficient and unhindered" delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip, according to Reuters.
It was not immediately clear if or when the United States planned to put the draft resolution to a vote. To pass, a resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by Iran allies Russia, China.
There was no response by Tehran as of Sunday morning. Government media mentioned the news in passing, while it had less coverage of the conflict compared to previous days.
The move by the United States comes after it vetoed a Brazilian-drafted text on Wednesday that would have called for humanitarian pauses in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants, to allow aid access to Gaza.
Israel has vowed to wipe out the Hamas Islamist group that rules Gaza, after its gunmen burst through the barrier fence surrounding the enclave on October 7 and rampaged through Israeli towns and kibbutzes, killing 1,400 people.
Israel has since pounded Gaza from the air, imposed a siege and is preparing for a ground offensive. Palestinian authorities say more than 4,000 people have been killed in the enclave. The UN says more than a million have been made homeless.
Iranian regime officials throughout the week continued threatening to expand the war if Israeli attacks on Gaza do not stop. Iran’s intelligence chief, Esmail Khatib, warned the United Statesand other ‘supporters’ of Israel on Saturday that they would face a ‘harsh, fatal revenge’ from God and the people.
Israel's Minister of Economy and Industry, Nir Barkat, warned that Israel would take action not only against the Hezbollah but also against Iran if Hezbollah takes action against Israel on its northern border, claiming "we will go to the head of the snake, which is Iran".
The US draft text does not call for any pause or truce in the fighting. It calls on all states to try and stop the "violence in Gaza from spilling over or expanding to other areas in the region, including by demanding the immediate cessation by Hezbollah and other armed groups of all attacks."
Lebanon's Iran-backed, heavily armed Hezbollah group has clashed with Israel across the Lebanese border multiple times since October 7 in the deadliest confrontations since they fought a month-long war in 2006.
SELF-DEFENSE
The US draft resolution demands Iran stops exporting arms to groups threatening peace and security across the region, including Hamas.
Iran has made no secret of its backing for Hamas, funding and arming the group and another Palestinian militant organization Islamic Jihad. Hamas officials have also confirmed that they received weapons from Iran and Hezbollah.
Article 51 covers the individual or collective right of states to self-defense against armed attack and states must immediately inform the 15-member Security Council of any action that states take in self-defense against armed attack.
In a letter sent the same day as the Hamas attack, Israel told the council it would "act in any way necessary to protect its citizens and sovereignty from the ongoing terrorist attacks originating from the Gaza Strip." But it does not appear to have formally invoked Article 51, diplomats said.
Arab countries have argued that Israel cannot justify its actions as self-defense.
"The Gaza Strip is an occupied territory," Jordan's UN Ambassador Mahmoud Daifallah Hmoud told the council on October 16, citing a 2004 opinion by the International Court of Justice on an Israeli separation barrier built around the West Bank.
With reporting by Reuters
