Lindsey Graham Says Trump Will Obliterate Iran If It Contests U.S. Strait of Hormuz Control

Sen. Lindsey Graham said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that if negotiations fail, President Trump will take the Strait of Hormuz “over by force,” and that “we will obliterate them” if Iran contests U.S. control.

Graham tied the threat to the ongoing talks in Switzerland involving a U.S. team led by Vice President Vance, Iran and mediators Qatar and Pakistan, and he said Vance reported progress at the conclusion of those talks.

Al Jazeera

The Hill also reported that U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding last week to lift the American naval blockade and end Iran’s closure of the strait amid ongoing ceasefire negotiation to determine a permanent end to the war.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said more than 112 ships have passed through the strait and that oil products “volumes about equal to where we were before the war,” while he described three channels and said the middle navigational channel “unfortunately, the Iranians have mined.”

Wright said the southern route had been “escorting ships through for several weeks,” and he argued that returning flows back toward normal would be leverage even “without any cooperation at all from Iran.”

The Guardian reported that Tehran announced it had again closed the strait of Hormuz, framing the move as a threat made because of ongoing Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon.

The Guardian added that Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, “Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble. If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!”

Anadolu Ajansı

The Guardian said Trump’s threats prompted the negotiators to walk out of the high-stakes discussions in protest, while it contrasted the president’s warning with Vice-President JD Vance’s tone seeking to turn over a “new leaf” with Tehran.

Devdiscourse reported that Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf is on his way to Oman to discuss joint efforts with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on managing shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Devdiscourse said the Iranian delegation includes Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and that the trip is to discuss efforts to “consolidate” Iranian arrangements for managing shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Zad al-Urdan al-Akhbari said the Iranian Hormoz Strait Management Authority exempted commercial ships from the fees prescribed for crossing the strait during a 60-day negotiating period under a memorandum of understanding signed with the United States this week.

The same source said Tehran conditioned the exemption on crossing requests being submitted at least 48 hours before ships reach the waterway, and it described the move as keeping ship traffic subject to pre-coordination measures tied to navigation safety and traffic management.

شبكة رؤية الإخبارية said IRNA outlined Tehran’s plan to manage the Strait of Hormuz after the 60-day deadline, stating that free passage would last only 60 days and that after that service costs would be charged rather than crossing fees.

شبكة رؤية الإخبارية also said mine clearance would be Iran's sole responsibility, with “no role for the United States,” and it said Tehran rejected internationalizing the administration of the strait.

Mehr News Agency reported that Ghalibaf said, “The Strait of Hormuz will beadministered by Iran with Iranian arrangements,” and it added that problems may arise and that they agreed to establish a center and a communication line within a 30-day period to solve issues more quickly.