Graham is close to the newly elected American president and in recent years has been very influential in shaping Trump’s policies in the Middle East
Sen. Lindsey Graham told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting in Jerusalem on Saturday to “do whatever you have to do” to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, according to Axios citing a spokesman for Graham.
Graham is close to the newly elected American president and in recent years has been very influential in shaping Trump’s policies in the Middle East.
Netanyahu wants Trump’s support to take tougher measures against Iran, including military action against its nuclear program, Israeli officials said.
The issue was at the center of a two-hour meeting between Netanyahu confidant Ron Dermer and Trump at Mar-a-Lago last Sunday.
The Israeli strike on Iran’s Parchin military complex in late October destroyed sophisticated equipment needed to design and test the plastic explosives that surround the uranium needed to detonate it, Axios reported.
Iran has so far not responded to the Israeli attack despite threatening to do so. Israeli officials said they believed Trump’s election victory caused the Iranians to reconsider their response.
Graham met on Saturday with Netanyahu and Israel’s new Defense Minister, Israel Katz. Both Netanyahu and Katz did not make statements regarding the meeting.
Graham told Axios after the meeting that he has “never been more concerned about Iran’s nukes than right now.”
“It is in America’s best interest to ensure that the Iranian regime does not have a nuclear weapon. This is a critical and dangerous time for our friends in Israel and the world at large,” Graham said.
Iran, for its part, has denied that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araksi said earlier this month that “Iran does not seek to develop nuclear weapons, period.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors will meet in the coming days and is expected to pass a resolution of censure against Iran for its lack of cooperation with the relevant UN agency.
Iran has said it could respond by taking new steps to advance its nuclear program. One of the main concerns in Israel and the US is that the Iranians are increasing the level of uranium enrichment from 60% to 90% purity, which is needed to develop nuclear weapons.
Source :Skai
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