Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Tuesday made a bold prediction about President Donald Trump’s war with Iran, but critics say it had a glaring flaw.
Graham, who has been one of the biggest cheerleaders for war with Iran while also pushing for a conflict with Cuba, praised Trump as “the right guy at the right time” because of Tehran’s supposed nuclear program.
“When he heard they were that close to 10 [nuclear] weapons, he acted,” Graham gushed. “And you know what? When this is over, we’re gonna obliterate their nuclear program and there’s gonna be a new dawn in the Mideast.”
But those claims would seem to conflict with what Trump himself said after he launched a series of strikes on Iran last June, which also targeted the nation’s nuclear program. At the time, Trump declared the military operation a success, saying the strikes had “completely and totally obliterated” Iran’s program.
When some analysts suggested that the attack had only set the program back by months, the White House slammed those reports in a statement headlined: “Iran’s Nuclear Facilities Have Been Obliterated — and Suggestions Otherwise are Fake News.”
That same statement included a quote from the president insisting that “obliteration is an accurate term” for the destruction the U.S. caused in Iran last summer.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also praised Trump last June for “a resounding success” in Iran in which he “created the conditions to end the war, [while also] decimating — choose your word — obliterating, destroying, Iran’s nuclear capabilities.”
Critics were quick to point out the inconsistency between Graham’s prediction on Tuesday and those claims from last year: