WASHINGTON — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said Thursday it was “beyond disturbing” to hear a report that Arab nations “intervened on behalf of Iran to avoid decisive military action by President Trump.”
“The ayatollah’s regime has American blood on its hands,” Graham said in an X post. “They are slaughtering people in the streets.”
Trump has not formally ruled out military strikes on Iranian targets amid Tehran’s crackdown against its own citizens, who are protesting the worsening economic conditions in the country.
The South Carolina Republican cited a report by Agence France-Presse, citing a senior Saudi official, that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman persuaded the president to “give Iran a chance.”
“If it is accurate that the Arab response is ‘action is not necessary against Iran’ given this current outrageous slaughter of innocent people, then there will be a dramatic rethinking on my part regarding the nature of the alliances now and in the future,” Graham thundered.
All the headlines suggesting that our so-called Arab allies have intervened on behalf of Iran to avoid decisive military action by President Trump are beyond disturbing. The ayatollah’s regime has American blood on its hands. They are slaughtering people in the streets.
If it… https://t.co/A6bgczkb4q
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 15, 2026
Iranian security forces have killed nearly 3,500 anti-regime protesters in the country, according to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group, with other unofficial reports claiming the death toll is almost 10 times that number.
