Israel should threaten to "blow up" oil refineries in Iran if Hamas does not release the hostages it seized during its Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Iran, Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday.
"As to the hostages, I would hold Iran responsible for their well-being," the South Carolina Republican told CNN's "State of the Union" while discussing Israel's preemptive strike against Iran-linked Hezbollah earlier in the day.
"If I were the state of Israel, I would tell the ayatollah, that if these people do not come home alive — the ones that are left alive — and if we don't get the bodies of the fallen, we're going to blow up your oil refineries," Graham said. "That's the only way you're ever going to get the hostages released is to put pressure on Iran."
Graham also said that in his opinion, the Hamas attacks on Israel last Oct. 7 were generated "to stop normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel."
"It's a nightmare for Iran and her proxies, for the Arabs and Israelis to reconcile and make peace and take the region in a different direction," he said.
Graham also on Sunday discussed last week's Democratic National Convention and the announcement from nominee Kamala Harris' campaign that it raised $540 million in 35 days.
But rather than the "joy" many people said they saw, Graham called the DNC a "hate fest" against Republicans.
"It was light on policy, heavy on insults," said Graham, adding that he has told former President Donald Trump that he will win the election if he focuses on policy.
"Americans are not joyful when they go to the gas station and fill up their car," he said. "They're not joyful when they make their mortgage payment. They're not joyful when they go to the grocery store. People are hurting and this whole joy love fest doesn't exist in the real world."
Trump "offers the best solution to change the trajectory of the country," Graham said. "If you're waiting on Kamala Harris to come up with new policies, you're going to die waiting because she will continue what they've been doing for the last four years."
The senator also addressed the truce between Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Trump, calling the governor's promise to put his ground game behind the former president a "very under-reported story."
"If we don't win Georgia, I don't see how we get to 270, but I do believe Georgia's ours to lose," said Graham. "Nothing is going to change with Vice President Harris. She's a nice person. Cory Booker's one of my best friends. She is lucky to have Cory to be a surrogate. But the truth of the matter, the policies of the last four years have been miserable failures.
"The world is on fire. Your grocery bills are up, your gas bill is up, your mortgage payments are up, and the worst is yet to come if you reelect these people."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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