Graham: Israel should threaten to ‘blow up’ Iran’s oil refineries if hostages don’t come home

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., recommended that Israel threaten to “blow up” Iran’s oil refineries if the remaining hostages taken by Hamas during the Oct. 7 terrorist attack are not released soon. 

Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Graham was asked to respond to Israel’s military reporting that it launched preemptive strikes that struck and destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers in Lebanon before a planned attack on Israel this weekend, as well as the hostage and cease-fire talks that are resuming in Cairo, Egypt, on Sunday. 

“How should the U.S. respond to what’s going on in the Middle East? And what is your message to get the cease-fire and hostage release deal across the finish line?” CNN’s Jake Tapper asked the senator. 

“Well, number one, I think we got to remember that October the 7th attack was generated, in my view, to stop normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel. It’s a nightmare for Iran and her proxies, for the Arabs and Israelis to reconcile and make peace and take the region in a different direction,” Graham said. “As to the hostages, I would hold Iran responsible for their well-being.”

“If I were the state of Israel, I would tell the ayatollah, if these people do not come home alive – the ones that are left alive – and if we don’t get the bodies of the fallen, we’re going to blow up your oil refineries,” Graham added. “That’s the only way you’re ever going to get the hostages released is to put pressure on Iran.” 

NETANYAHU VOWS MORE ‘SURPRISE BLOWS’ AFTER ISRAEL THWARTED ‘THOUSANDS’ OF HEZBOLLAH ROCKETS: ‘NOT THE END’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday vowed more “surprising blows” against Iran-backed terrorist groups after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reportedly struck launch sites in Lebanon just minutes before Hezbollah was planning to fire thousands of rockets into central Israel.

 “What happened today is not the end of the story. Hezbollah tried to attack the State of Israel with rockets and drones early in the morning,” Netanyahu said at a government meeting in Tel Aviv. “We instructed the IDF to carry out a powerful preemptive strike to remove the threat.” 

Michael Herzog, Israeli ambassador to the United States, said in an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that the IDF operation prevented a wider…