Hawkish US senator pushes Trump to ignore aides , press ahead with war against Iran

globalsecurity.org · Feb 23, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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Iran Press TV Sunday, 22 February 2026 11:07 AM Hawkish US Senator Lindsey Graham has called on President Donald Trump not to yield to advisers warning against an act of aggression against Iran. Graham, who visited West Asia earlier this week and met with Israeli, Emirati and Saudi officials, acknowledged the risks of a new US military confrontation in the region. "I understand concerns about major military operations in the Middle East, given past entanglements. However, the voices who counsel against getting entangled seem to ignore the consequences of letting evil go unchecked," he told the US media outlet Axios. The Republican senator also noted that he believes there is an opportunity "to bring about historic changeو" in Iran. "But it's increasingly clear to me that voices opposing entanglement and the risk associated with decisive action are getting louder. Time will tell as to how this plays out," he added. The US began its war rhetoric against Iran after recent foreign-linked riots, which immediately failed to take off, and during which Trump talked about coming to the aid of the armed mercenaries. Since then, the US president has kept threatening military action, deploying two carrier groups and dozens of fighter jets, bombers, and refueling aircraft to regional waters near Iran. Iran has stressed that it will consider all US bases in the region legitimate targets for retaliatory operations and deliver a "decisive" response to any act of adventurism. The United States and Israel waged an illegal aggression against Iran between June 13 and 27, 2025, killing at least 1,064 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists, and civilians. Condemned as a major betrayal of diplomacy, the terrorist assault came just days before Tehran was preparing to hold a sixth round of Oman-mediated negotiations with Washington. NEWSLETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list