President Trump views the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as “Hitler in a robe wearing a turbin,” and his decision to green light “Operation Epic Fury” is a “1000-year moment,” Sen. Lindsey Graham boldly assessed.
Graham (R-SC), a close Trump ally and longtime hawk on Iran, predicted that the strikes on Iran have set in motion the “evil” regime’s demise and could lay the foundation for normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia in a massive game-changer for the Middle East.
“I’ve been talking to him [Trump] continuously for days and weeks. He’s of the mindset that Ayatollah is Hitler in a Robe wearing a turban, that he’s not capable of changing his ways,” Graham told “Fox & Friends Weekend” Saturday.
A plume of smoke rises in Tehran. UGC/UNKNOWN/AFP via Getty Images
An explosion in the sea near Haifa, Israel. REUTERS“This is the most consequential decision any presidents’ made since 1959. Because of President Trump’s understanding of the evil nature of this regime, he has set in motion its demise. This military operation is overwhelming. It will bring this regime down. President Trump called on the Iranian people to seize the moment. I believe they will.
“What’s going to happen is that the regime will lose power gradually throughout the country. There will be cities that fall to the people. The regime will become isolated.”
Graham had long been in Trump’s ear about Iran, at times publicly grumbling over the doves around him that were pushing the president against military action in Iran.
The US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran around 9 am local time, hoping to “destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry,” “annihilate their Navy,” and ensure that Tehran’s “terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region,” according to Trump.
Strikes appeared to target Iran’s ballistic missile system and leadership. The president has warned the Iranian public that “this will be, probably, your only chance for generations” to end the regime and warned that “we may have casualties.”
“I hope the Ayatollah is captured or killed,” Graham went on. “He’s Hitler in a robe. He has killed over 30,000 of his own people to maintain power. He is a religious Nazi. He wants to kill all the Jews. He wants to purify Islam, and he wants to come after us.”
Lindsey Graham proclaims Trump ‘met the moment’ in seeking demise of Iranian supreme leader. Getty Images
A damaged building with smoke and fire rising from debris after US and Israeli strikes on Tehran. UGC/UNKNOWN/AFP via Getty Images
A rocket or missile in flight over the US Navy Base in Bahrain. Supplied“And if you don’t believe that, you’re crazy,” the senator continued. “Donald Trump is a different cat. President Trump is a man of peace, but he’s a man not to be trifled with.”
Graham made a reference to recent estimates of the death toll from the theocratic regime’s barbaric crackdown on anti-regime protests that swept Iran late last year in response to economic concerns. Trump had vowed on Jan. 2 that if Iran massacred its people, the US would “come to their rescue.”
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Exact figures of the death toll vary, with some estimating over 30,000 were killed and other such as the Human Rights Activists News Agency, pegging it as over 7,000.
“With the fall of the largest state sponsor of terrorism, the pathway to peace and prosperity in the Mideast is going to be wide, long, and it’s going to be a 1,000 year momen here. What will happen next if the regime falls, I think Saudi Arabia, the keeper of the holy mosque in Mecca and Medina, the center of Islam, will go back to the table to try to do peace with Israel,” Graham predicted. “We were close before Oct. 7.”
The Saudis have demanded Palestinian statehood in exchange for normalizing relations with Israel. But over recent years, Iran has been a motivating factor in the two countries having under-the-table cooperation on a variety of fronts.
“The mothership of terrorism is about to go down. There’s a new dawn coming in the Mideast,” the senator continued. “This is the most significant thing that’s happened in my lifetime. This is the most significant thing that’s happened in the Mideast in 1,000 years.”
Graham lauded President Trump’s “Operation Epic Fury” airstrikes on Iran. UGC/UNKNOWN/AFP via Getty Images“The gold standard for Republican foreign policy is no longer Ronald Reagan. It is Donald J Trump.”
Graham credited Trump for “understanding who he’s dealing with” and knowing that Khamenei is interested in “destruction,” not “deals.” Trump’s team had gone through multiple rounds of negotiations with Iran through mediators over its nuclear program.
While top Iranian officials expressed openness to discussing the country’s nuclear program, they ruled out concessions on its ballistic missile program.
