Wednesday while speaking with reporters on Capitol Hill, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) weighed in on the recently announced additional sanctions against Iran in response to their attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil.
Graham said Iran needs to be “dealt with firmly,” adding he thinks it will take something “beyond sanctions” to deter their provocative behavior.”
A reporter off-camera asked, “When you look at the sanctions that President Trump announced, and he hasn’t announced details of it, but is that enough of a punishment to deter, in your mind, Iran from future attacks, or do you think that this is going to be perceived as weakness?”
“Well, the maximum pressure campaign has worked in the sense it’s crippled the regime’s economy, it’s made life difficult for the regime, but it has not changed their behavior,” Graham explained. “So what I’m looking for is the response to restore deterrence. If you do not deter Iran, they will move forward even more aggressively.”
He continued, “Quite frankly, I am shocked they were this bold and brazen after the drone attack. The bottom line with Iran is radical Islam does not accept subtlety well. The only conclusion I think you can reach is that the Iranians while having been hurt by the maximum pressure campaign, have not been deterred in terms of their provocative behavior. And it’s going to take something, I think, beyond sanctions to achieve that deterrence.”
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