Fresh off a bipartisan trip to Israel amid its war with Hamas, Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., plan to introduce a non-binding resolution warning Iran about facilitating a widening of the conflict. 

“The resolution puts Iran on notice that all this military force in the region will be coming after you if you expand this war by activating Hezbollah or killing an American through your proxies in Syria and Iraq,” Graham said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday in a joint interview with Blumenthal. 

What You Need To Know

  • Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., plan to introduce a non-binding resolution warning Iran about facilitating a widening of the Israel-Hamas war
  • Specifically, Graham said, the resolution will recommend the U.S. should militarily strike Iran if the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah opens up a second front against Israel in a “substantial way” 
  • Both Hezbollah and Hamas have long been backed by Iran 
  • Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged strikes along the Lebanon-Israel border since the Oct. 7 attack 
  • Biden administration officials have sounded alarms about the possibility of the war expanding since the immediate aftermath of Hamas' attack 

Specifically, Graham said, the resolution will recommend the U.S. should strike Iran if the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah opens up a second front against Israel in a “substantial way” that would overwhelm the Iron Dome, the country's missile defense system. 

“It's aggressive, but it's absolutely necessary,” Blumenthal said in the joint interview on CNN. 

Both Hezbollah and Hamas have long been backed by Iran. U.S. officials have said they do not have evidence Iran was directly involved with Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel but still emphasized Tehran has long supported Hamas and other terrorist groups in the region. On Sunday, citing Iranian state media, Reuters reported Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – Iran’s supreme leader – and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh recently held a meeting. 

“There is no Hamas without the Ayatollah's support,” Graham said. "There is no Hezbollah without the Ayatollah's support."

Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged strikes along the border between the two countries since the Oct. 7 attack. Over the weekend, Hezbollah targeted Israeli army posts as Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes. The militant group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday warned of a possible expansion of the war by his group, saying Hezbollah is prepared for all options and can use them at any time. 

“The purpose of the resolution is to deter Iran by showing we're going to be behind the president as he seeks to stop the war from widening or escalating,” Blumenthal added. 

Biden administration officials have sounded alarms about the possibility of the war expanding -- and emphasized one of its largest goals is stopping that from happening -- since the immediate aftermath of Hamas’ attack. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is currently on his second trip to the Middle East since Oct. 7 in which he is meeting with leaders from other nations in the region, with halting a potential spread of the conflict a key priority. 

“There's consensus in the region that deterrence is critical, because Iran here is the toxic malign influence,” Blumenthal said. 

Graham also argued deathly attacks on Americans in Syria and Iraq would be considered a widening of the conflict. 

“Israel is begging us to deter Iran. They don't want the war to widen. If any of our troops are killed in Syria and Iraq by Iranian-backed militias, I think that's an expansion of the war,” he said. 

There have been a number of attacks on U.S. bases and personnel in Syria since the war began. Less than two weeks ago, the U.S. conducted airstrikes in locations in Syria linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Graham and Blumenthal were two of ten Senators -- five Republicans and five Democrats -- who traveled to Israel and the Middle East in late October amid the war.