Senator Graham Threatens Saudi Arabia for Not Joining US-Israel War on Iran

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of President Donald Trump, has publicly pressured Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states to join the ongoing US-Israeli war against Iran, warning of potential consequences for countries that refuse to participate.

Graham’s remarks came as Gulf governments continue to distance themselves from direct military participation in the conflict, despite facing missile and drone attacks linked to the escalating regional war.

In a post on X on Monday, Graham criticized Saudi Arabia for declining to use its military forces in the campaign against Iran.

It is my understanding the Kingdom refuses to use their capable military as a part of an effort to end the barbaric and terrorist Iranian regime who has terrorized the region and killed 7 Americans.

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham

He also questioned whether the United States should deepen defense ties with Riyadh if it declines to participate. “Should America do a defense agreement with a country like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that is unwilling to join a fight of mutual interest?”

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council states had previously urged Washington not to launch military action against Iran, warning that such a move could expose their territories to retaliatory strikes.

Those concerns have materialized since the conflict began on February 28, with Iranian missiles and drones striking targets in the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, as well as military installations in Saudi Arabia.

Iran struck the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia and also targeted facilities linked to the US embassy compound in Riyadh, according to U.S. officials.

U.S. Central Command confirmed on Monday that a seventh American soldier died from wounds sustained in the March 1 attack.

Despite facing attacks, Gulf governments have continued to emphasize diplomacy rather than escalation. The United Arab Emirates ambassador to the United Nations, Jamal al-Musharakh, said his country would not participate in offensive operations.

“We were one of the countries that constantly called for the need for a negotiation, the need for diplomacy, the need for de-escalation,” Musharakh said while speaking to journalists in Geneva.

He added that Gulf governments had informed partners that their territory would not be used for attacks on Iran.

Our territories would not be used for any attacks against Iran. Yet we are being targeted, frankly, in a very unwarranted manner.

UAE Ambassador to UN Jamal al-Musharakh

Graham has been among the most vocal advocates in Washington for military action against Iran. According to reporting by The Wall Street Journal, the senator spent months lobbying President Trump to approve a strike against Iran.

He reportedly met Trump repeatedly at his Florida clubs, spoke with him regularly by phone and coordinated with outside allies to reinforce the case for military action.

Graham also traveled multiple times to Israel, where he met intelligence officials and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to Graham, Netanyahu later presented intelligence directly to Trump that helped persuade the president to move forward with the operation.

The lobbying effort also involved retired General Jack Keane and commentator Marc Thiessen, who frequently communicated with Trump while publicly advocating for military action in television appearances and opinion articles.

Graham also argued to Trump that Iran was strategically vulnerable and referenced alleged Iranian plots against the president during the 2024 US election campaign.

He framed military action as a continuation of Trump’s earlier decision to withdraw the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear agreement.

The war has also triggered criticism within the United States. Representative Ro Khanna argued that the military campaign contradicts the political message that helped bring Trump to power. He also criticized the push for war with Iran, noting that Donald Trump previously described the Iraq and Libya wars as disasters and built much of his political support among voters who opposed another Middle East conflict.

Khanna said the prominence of Senator Lindsey Graham in shaping Republican foreign policy represents, in his view, a betrayal of a significant portion of the MAGA base that backed Trump’s anti-war stance.

Donald Trump himself previously criticized prolonged U.S. military involvement in the Middle East.

In 2019, he argued that Senator Lindsey Graham favored keeping thousands of American troops in the region for decades, fighting conflicts on behalf of others, while he said his own priority was to withdraw the United States from Middle Eastern wars. That seems to have changed today.

The conflict is already straining relations between Washington and its traditional partners in the Gulf. While Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf states remain security partners of the United States, they have shown little willingness to join a direct confrontation with Iran.

Regional leaders fear that entering the war could invite further strikes against critical infrastructure, including energy facilities and desalination plants that supply drinking water.

Iran has demonstrated the ability to strike across the region using missiles and drones, raising concerns about prolonged escalation.

Even as Gulf governments express anger over Iranian attacks, analysts say they remain cautious about entering a war whose outcome remains uncertain.