Lindsey Graham: If elected, Trump will put 'military force on the table' to deter Iran

Senator tells The National at Republican National Convention there will be increased support for Israel in a new administration

US Senator Lindsey Graham believes that if re-elected, former president Donald Trump will “put military force on the table” to try to deter Iran’s destabilising activity in the Middle East.

Mr Graham's comments came ahead of an expected speech by Mr Trump at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the expected theme of which will be national unity.

The senior senator from South Carolina said Mr Trump would “reset relations with Iran”, a move he believes would ultimately help Israel as it continues its war in Gaza.

About 38,800 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza after the Hamas-led October 7 attacks, which killed about 1,200 people and saw more than 240 kidnapped.

“The biggest problem we have right now is an out-of-control Iran,” Mr Graham told The National on the sidelines of the RNC.

“He's going to put them in a box. He's going to go back to maximum pressure.”

Mr Graham was speaking at a Polaris National Security event on foreign policy, held at the Red Rock Saloon in downtown Milwaukee.

The venue briefly became the centre of Republican foreign policy strategy discussion as Mr Graham and fellow senators Joni Ernst and Bill Hagerty outlined how they expected Mr Trump to address myriad challenges confronting the world in 2024, including the Israel-Gaza war and the threat of Iran, China and Russia.

Lindsey Graham participates in a panel discussion on national security alongside fellow senators Joni Ernst and Bill Hagerty during the Republican National Convention. Joshua Longmore / The National

With a mechanical bull in the corner, the music venue was a strange place for the senators to speak on the need to increase support for Israel, how to deal with Russian aggression and China's relations with Taiwan.

Mr Graham told the crowd, which included several high-profile ambassadors to the US, including Michael Herzog from Israel and Ukraine’s Oksana Markarova, that Mr Trump “will re-establish American dominance” on the world stage, a move he believes will help create a deterrence effect on US adversaries.

Mr Herzog appeared pleased with what Mr Graham and the other Republican senators had to say about Israel and its war efforts.

“I think we all agree that as far as Israel is concerned, the most important thing is to announce the tariffs, vis-a-vis Iran, and we should stand together Israel and the United States and push back against Iran,” he told The National.

“I'm glad that what we heard here today is in line with this thinking.”

Mr Trump had a contentious relationship with Iran while in office.

In 2018, he withdrew the US from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which provided sanctions relief in return for restrictions on Tehran's nuclear programme.

Though President Joe Biden attempted to bring the US back into the deal, talks have stalled and Iran has continued work on its nuclear programme. According to reports seen by Reuters, Iran’s stocks of uranium enriched to 60 per cent had reached 142.1kg as of May 11.

After the US withdrawal from the JCPOA, Mr Trump began a “maximum pressure” campaign of sanctions against Iran, imposing hundreds of measures on Tehran as well as foreign companies and individuals who did business with the country.

He also oversaw the assassination of Maj Gen Qassem Suleimani, head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, in a Baghdad air strike in 2020.

Tehran regards Mr Trump as a criminal due to his involvement in the assassination and has vowed to bring him to justice.