Sen. Lindsey Graham: Hezbollah should face military force if it doesn’t agree to disarm

Speaking in Tel Aviv after a visit to Lebanon yesterday, US Senator Lindsey Graham said that if Hezbollah does not agree to disarm, it should face military action.

“If we cannot reach a peaceful disarmament solution for Hezbollah, then we need to look at plan B,” he said at a Thursday night press conference. “Plan B is disarming Hezbollah by military force.”

The US should support the Lebanese Armed Forces in that effort, he said.

“If we have to use military force to disarm Hezbollah, I think it’s in America’s interest to make sure the Lebanese army is successful.”

The Lebanese government is expected to present a plan next week for disarming Hezbollah.

On whether Israel should accept a partial hostage deal endorsed by Hamas, Graham, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, said that the president “is going to back Israel’s decision no matter what they do.”

“One thing to me is non-negotiable,” he said. “Hamas needs to go and they need to go this year.”

Graham visited Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution sites in southern Gaza during his trip.

Turning to the June airstrikes against Iran’s nuclear program, Graham argued that the success of the operation was “an antidote to the problems we face by withdrawing from Afghanistan.”

He said that the US and Israel “obliterated these nuclear sites and the conversion center. But the desire of the Ayatollah to have a nuclear weapon has not been obliterated. His capability has.”