Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina went on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” Sunday morning and delivered one of his most pointed calls yet for renewed American military action against Iran, telling host Kristen Welker that diplomatic negotiations with Tehran have collapsed and that the only path forward is to inflict greater damage on the regime’s military and energy infrastructure.
Graham opened his Iran remarks by stating plainly that the United States has run out of road at the negotiating table. “I think we hit a wall when it comes to negotiations,” he said. He pointed to President Trump’s own public frustration as evidence of the stalemate, noting that Trump had recently suggested anyone still willing to make a deal might be “crazy.”
When Welker pressed him directly — asking whether he was calling on Trump to resume military action — Graham did not step back from the implication. “I think you can’t get a coherent answer from Iran,” he said. “They agree to things and the next day they back up. President Trump is very frustrated. I think it’s going to be very difficult to get a deal with the current regime.”
Graham said he had spoken with CIA Director the previous day and came away with a bleak assessment of whether the Iranian leadership had meaningfully changed its posture. “Any evidence the crowd in charge now is any less committed to destroying Israel?” he said. “I think the answer is no. Weaken them further and you may get a deal later. You’re not going to get a deal with this crowd until you hurt them more.”
The South Carolina Republican was explicit that in his view, extended ceasefire conditions and continued diplomacy are actively working against American interests. “The status quo is hurting us all,” he said. “The longer the Strait is closed, the longer we try to pursue a deal that never happens, the stronger Iran gets.”
Graham argued that nothing in the regime’s current behavior suggests the leadership has abandoned the goals that brought the conflict on in the first place. “There’s nothing to suggest that the people in charge now are any different — their goal is to terrorize the world, destroy Israel, come after us,” he said. “So you weaken them further.”
He praised what the Trump administration has already accomplished militarily but argued that additional targets remain and that walking away from pressure now would be a strategic mistake. “What President Trump has done has been amazing militarily,” Graham said. “The energy infrastructure is their soft underbelly. Going back to the fight, I put energy on top of the list.”
When Welker confirmed directly — “you’re calling for strikes on the energy infrastructure” — Graham affirmed the characterization without qualification. “Yeah, I’m calling to hurt this regime,” he said. “Hurt them more, maybe they’ll make a deal. But right now I think they’re trying to wait this out and playing games. In the words of the president, I think they’re crazy.”
Graham’s comments come as the United States and Iran remain in a fragile ceasefire that has not produced a formal agreement, and as the Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s seaborne oil trade passed before the conflict — remains effectively shut down. Global energy prices have spiked significantly since the war began in late February, with inflation climbing to its highest annual rate in three years by the time Graham sat down for Sunday’s interview.
The senator has been one of the most consistent voices in Congress advocating for maximum pressure on Tehran. His call Sunday for strikes targeting Iranian energy infrastructure — specifically framing it as the regime’s “soft underbelly” — represents an escalation in his public posture at a moment when the Trump administration appears to be weighing its next move. Whether the White House moves in the direction Graham outlined, or continues to pursue a negotiated off-ramp, remains to be seen.