Reporting from the Wall Street Journal appears to suggest Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is the connection between Israel and the United States on the attacks on Tehran.
To help make the case on Iran, Graham traveled several times to Israel in recent weeks, meeting with members of the country’s intelligence agency. “They’ll tell me things our own government won’t tell me,” he said. He spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, coaching him on how to lobby the president for action. Netanyahu showed the president intelligence that persuaded Trump to go ahead, Graham said. 1
Congresspeople on both sides of the aisle are convinced Graham goaded Trump into helping hold the axe for Netanyahu to grind. Graham says Trump was encouraged by his success with the Maduro operation, but reporting from The Daily Beast suggests Graham’s been working on Trump to attack Iran since the start of Trump’s second term. 2
Graham is characterized by some as having an “interventionist mentality” that goes against the isolationist ideals of MAGA, on which the president campaigned. Graham apparently coached Netanyahu on how to approach Trump about a joint operation, and discussed the matter with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.
For his part, Netanyahu seems to have played his cards well with Trump, appealing to his ego by heaping credit upon him for their military successes since last Saturday. 3
In my view, Mr. Trump has three significant motivators: ego stroking, money, and revenge. So perhaps it’s no coincidence that reports published today mention threats against the president made by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps since 2020 and today’s conviction of a Pakistani man sent by Iran to kill U.S. politicians. Reporting from The Washington Post suggests Mr. Trump was aware of a plot against his life, and that it was a factor in the U.S. attacks. 4
But if we accept that Iran was identified in Project 2025 as a target for the U.S. State Department, then where was Secretary of State Rubio while Lindsey Graham was knocking on doors in the Middle East to drum up support for an attack? If Rubio was against it, why didn’t he intervene and tell the Senator to stay in his lane? 5
- Dawsey, J. (2026, March 6). Lindsey Graham’s quest to sell Trump on striking Iran. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 7, 2026, from https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/lindsey-graham-trump-iran-fa5f54f0?mod=wsj_furtherreading_pos_1 ↩︎
- Rosciglione, A. (2026, March 7). Senator Brags about how he manipulated Trump, 79, into war. The Daily Beast. https://www.thedailybeast.com/senator-lindsey-graham-brags-about-how-he-manipulated-trump-79-into-war-with-iran/ ↩︎
- Lieber, D. (2026, March 7). Netanyahu Finally Got What He Wanted on Iran by Appealing to an Audience of One. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 7, 2026, from https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/netanyahu-finally-got-what-he-wanted-on-iran-by-appealing-to-an-audience-of-one-a0d39c7b?mod=WSJ_home_mediumtopper_pos_2 ↩︎
- Siegel, R. (2026, March 7). Pakistani man convicted in Iran-backed plot to kill Trump. The Washington Post. Retrieved March 7, 2026, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/03/07/trump-iran-assassination-plot/ ↩︎
- Farrell, T. (2026f, January 31). Venezuela, Iran among Predefined Priorities for U.S. Department of State. On Current Events. https://currentevents.blog/2026/01/02/state-department-venezuela-iran/ ↩︎
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