South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has called on the Trump administration to send shipments of weapons directly to the Iranian people, enabling them to lead a grassroots revolution to overthrow their government. The suggestion comes as the U.S. and Iran trade hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz, and after President Donald Trump claimed to have sent firearms into the region via Kurdish fighters that never reached their intended recipients.
Graham's Proposal
Speaking to Sean Hannity of Fox News on Monday, Graham pitched what he called a 'Second Amendment solution for the Iranian people' to finally topple the theocratic regime in Tehran. He argued that this approach would avoid putting American troops in harm's way. '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.
'We don't need American boots on the ground. We've got millions of boots on the ground in Iran. They just don't have any weapons. Give them the weapons so they can rise up like we did to destroy this regime. A Second Amendment solution, I think, would go a long way to ending this war,' he continued.
Response to Hannity's Concerns
When Hannity raised the issue of previous attempts to funnel weapons through Kurdish groups, noting that up to 90 percent of the weapons were allegedly stolen, Graham insisted on finding alternative channels. 'Don't work with the Kurds. Work with somebody else. And if you can prove to me the Kurds were stealing the weapons, the Kurds will regret that,' he said. Graham added, 'I love the idea of empowering the Iranian people with weapons, a Second Amendment solution to make the Revolutionary Guard's life hell. It's one thing to be bombed by America. It's another thing to have your neighbor shoot back at you because they're tired of being slaughtered.'
Trump's Claims and Kurdish Denials
President Trump, during a phone interview with Fox on Sunday, stated that his administration had attempted to supply guns to Iranian protesters during nationwide demonstrations in late December and January. 'We sent guns to the protesters, a lot of them. We sent them through the Kurds. And I think the Kurds took the guns,' Trump said. He repeated the complaint on Monday, expressing anger at a 'certain group of people' and warning they would 'pay a big price.' However, several Kurdish groups have denied ever receiving weapons from the U.S., stating they remain reliant on old equipment from earlier battles against ISIS.
Ongoing Hostilities
As the U.S. and Iran exchange fire in the Strait of Hormuz, jeopardizing a fragile ceasefire, Tehran warned that the U.S. Project Freedom initiative—granting safe passage to oil ships—threatened to become 'Project Deadlock' and a new 'quagmire' for their enemy. The president has reverted to extreme rhetoric, warning that Iran will be 'blown off the face of the earth' unless it changes its ways.
