Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Sunday that any durable Middle East settlement must first neutralize threats from Iran-aligned Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and constrain Iran, arguing that broader diplomacy will falter if those actors can upend negotiations.
Lindsey Graham Says Threats Remain Central To Middle East Peace Talks
The South Carolina Republican said the cease-fire now taking hold in Gaza creates an opening, but warned that a sustainable deal requires tackling other key pieces of the puzzle before final-status talks advance.
“Just as Hamas used October 7 to try and stop normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel, Hezbollah will try to undo this latest progress in the Middle East. Iran is the common thread between these terrorist organizations – we have to keep Iran in a box,” Graham wrote in an X post on Sunday, alluding to his comments in an NBC ‘Meet the Press’ interview on Sunday.
Path To Palestinian State Requires New Terms, Says Graham
Graham said during that interview that he does “believe there’s a pathway forward to an independent, sovereign Palestine that Israel can accept and live with, but that’s going to take a lot of work.”
A close ally of President Donald Trump, Graham also addressed Israeli leaders, stating that “there will not be normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel unless we come up with a plan to allow the Palestinians to have an independent, sovereign country that doesn’t threaten Israel.” He cautioned Western allies that after Oct. 7, 2023, a Palestinian entity would look different than before. “It won’t be a state. It’ll be more like an emirate. It will probably be a protectorate of Saudi Arabia.”
Graham has repeatedly linked progress to containing Hezbollah and Tehran’s influence, saying those threats must be addressed to prevent the kind of spoiler violence that derailed past efforts. “If we cannot reach a peaceful disarmament solution for Hezbollah, then we need to look at plan B,” he said in August, according to a Times of Israel report, urging support for the Lebanese Armed Forces and tighter pressure on Iran.
Trump Plan Advances Amid Bolton’s Warning
The comments came as Trump said Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of his 20-point peace framework, with a cease-fire in Gaza and reciprocal releases of hostages and prisoners. As of Sunday, the truce was holding and preparations for hostage releases were underway ahead of Trump’s visit to Israel and a regional summit.
That said, skepticism remains. Former national security adviser John Bolton warned the plan could unravel on its “least achievable” condition, which was Hamas disarming and relinquishing control of Gaza, even as the initial steps proceed.
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