Sen. Lindsey Graham said he told President Trump to consider targeting Iran’s economy to prevent retaliation for the decision to kill Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
Graham, 64, was one of the only members of Congress to be briefed on Trump’s decision to take out Soleimani on Thursday. The South Carolina senator was given a briefing while visiting the president at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
During an interview on Fox & Friends on Friday, Graham claimed that he advised the president to target Iranian oil refineries to prevent any type of revenge the Iran may be considering in the wake of Soleimani’s death.
“I was briefed about the potential operation when I was down in Florida. I appreciate being brought into the orbit. I really appreciate President Trump letting the world know you cannot kill an American without impunity. We will stand up for our people, and that is an absolutely essential message. But now, what will change Iran’s calculation? How we respond. They are going to come after us with a vengeance if we do not reset the table pretty quickly,” Graham said.
He added: “If I were the president, I would put on the table targets in Iran, not Iraq and Syria. Economic targets that would crush the economy.”
As Graham noted, Iran’s economy has already been suffocated by sanctions placed on the nation by Trump. The oil-refining process is one of the only steady sources of revenue keeping Iran afloat.
Graham appears to be the only senator to say that he was briefed about the attack on Soleimani, meaning that Trump did not disclose the situation to the top leaders of Congress. In response to Trump’s decision, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi expressed frustration with Trump’s isolated decision-making, saying, “The full Congress must be immediately briefed on this serious situation.”
Soleimani was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American soldiers over the past two decades. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed Trump’s decision to kill the Iranian general “saved American lives” by stopping an imminent threat.
