Arming the Iranian Opposition Faied, Lindsey Graham Wants the U.S. to Do It Again to ‘Turn the Tide of Battle’
Sen. Lindsey Graham called for the United States to arm Iranian civilians directly, arguing that weapons shipments could help them rise up against Tehran while avoiding the deployment of American troops.
“If I were President Trump and I were Israel, I would load the Iranian people up with weapons so they can go to the streets armed and turn the tide of battle inside Iran,” Graham said on Fox News’s “Hannity.” He described the idea as “a Second Amendment solution for the Iranian people.”
Graham’s remarks came as the United States and Iran exchanged hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz and as Washington sought to restore commercial shipping under “Project Freedom.” The senator said the U.S. did not need “American boots on the ground,” adding, “We’ve got millions of boots on the ground in Iran. They just don’t have any weapons.”
He continued:
“This has been a brilliant campaign by President Trump and our military. Iran’s nuclear program has been destroyed. Their ability to spread terrorism has been crippled because they are on their knees economically. If we can control the Strait of Hormuz—if we can take back control—it’s checkmate. This thing is over”
Sen. Lindsey Graham says controlling the Strait of Hormuz would be “checkmate,” calling Trump’s campaign against Iran decisive and nearing the finish line:
“I like the idea of empowering the Iranian people with weapons—a Second Amendment–style solution—to make the Revolutionary… pic.twitter.com/rBANbmNIGZ
— Sean Hannity 🇺🇸 (@seanhannity) May 5, 2026
The comments followed President Donald Trump’s claim that his administration had previously sent guns to Iranian protesters through Kurdish fighters, but that the weapons had not reached their intended recipients. “We sent guns to the protesters, a lot of them,” Trump said in a Fox interview Sunday. “We sent them through the Kurds. And I think the Kurds took the guns.” Several Kurdish groups have denied receiving or diverting U.S. weapons.
When Fox host Sean Hannity raised concerns that intermediaries had allegedly taken the weapons, Graham replied, “Do it again.” He later added, “Don’t work with the Kurds. Work with somebody else.”
Graham has faced criticism from Republicans wary of expanding the war. Rep. Nancy Mace accused him in March of trying to “drag us into Iran to make it another Iraq,” while other conservatives have said his comments conflicted with Trump’s “America First” posture.
Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has also slammed Graham over his stance on Iran, calling him a “psychotic neocon” and accusing him of being “willing to send US Marines in to be slaughtered.”
Originally published on Latin Times
