Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) on Sunday announced plans to introduce a resolution that will recommend the US launch military strikes on Iran if Hezbollah opens up a second front in the war with Israel.
The two senators appeared on CNN’s State of the Union to discuss the initiative.
“It basically says if the war expands, if Hezbollah opens up a second front in the north against Israel in a substantial way, to overwhelm the Iron Dome, then we should hit the Islamic Republic of Iran. There is no Hamas without the Ayatollah’s support. There’s no Hezbollah without the Ayatollah’s support,” Graham said.
“The resolution puts Iran on notice that all this military force in the region will be coming after you if you expand this war by activating Hezbollah or killing an American through your proxies in Syria and Iraq,” he added. “They need to hear that.”
“It’s aggressive, but it’s absolutely necessary,” said Blumenthal.
US President Joe Biden has several times warned Iran not to attack US troops in the region, including in a speech in which he warned Iran not to take advantage of the fighting between Israel and Hamas.
Nevertheless, Iranian-backed militias have recently attacked US bases in Iraq and Syria. US officials confirmed recently that American troops stationed in the Middle East have been attacked 13 times in one week by suicide drones and rockets.
Following the repeated attacks, the Pentagon announced that President Joe Biden had ordered strikes on two facilities in Syria used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and groups supported by Tehran.
Graham and Blumenthal announced their initiative on the same day that Iran’s Defense Minister, Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani, warned the US it would "be hit hard" if Washington did not implement a ceasefire in Gaza.
Graham previously warned Iran against escalating the Israel-Hamas war.
“Here’s my message: If Hezbollah, which is a proxy of Iran, launches a massive attack on Israel, I would consider that a threat to the state of Israel existential in nature,” he told NBC in mid-October.
In a direct message to Iran, he said, “Iran, if you escalate this war, we’re coming for you.”