Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Friday urged President Trump to consider removing U.S. military bases from countries that “won’t let us fly” and again slammed European allies for refusing to assist U.S.-Israeli military operations in Iran.
Graham repeated the suggestion after Trump told reporters earlier Friday that the senator “was right to raise the issue.”
“What I love most about you, Mr. President, is that right now our allies are taking America for granted while they themselves are in danger,” the South Carolina Republican posted on the social platform X.
The senator added: “As for my suggestion, I meant it then and I’ll repeat it now: When we face the largest sponsor of terrorism in the world, we should consider removing U.S. bases from a country that won’t let us fly, a country that has been committed to developing nuclear weapons and is very close to achieving that goal.”
Trump and Graham have blasted NATO allies in recent days for their reluctance to support a U.S. military effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint that has been effectively closed to shipping traffic since the conflict began on February 28.
Iran’s ongoing blockade and escalating attacks on ships and oil and gas facilities have disrupted the global economy, causing fuel prices to rise sharply.
The president said on Sunday he asked seven countries to send warships to help secure the strait, but so far no country has agreed to lend military assets.
Britain recently approved the use of British military bases to conduct “defensive” strikes against Iranian missile sites targeting ships in the Channel. Although Trump said the move was a “very late response.”
Still, other NATO countries, such as Spain, said early in the war that they would not do so.
According to an RTVE translation, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Alvarez said in a radio program on March 1: “Within Spanish sovereignty, the joint use base will not be used for any activities that are not included in the scope of the treaty or outside the Charter of the United Nations.”
Graham on Friday called Spain’s refusal to allow U.S. aircraft based there to be used for military operations an “insult and outrage” to the long-standing alliance and said the president should consider relocation.
“Mr. President, I believe it would be in the interest of the United States to move these aircraft from Spain to a country that we can truly rely on in our time of emergency,” he wrote. “I trust your judgment.”
The staunch war hawk senator has long been one of the strongest advocates on Capitol Hill for expanding U.S. military intervention in Iran, often urging Trump to take a more aggressive approach to the conflict.
He earlier this week urged Trump to “occupy” Kharg Island, a key export terminal in the Gulf, saying it would weaken the Iranian regime’s economic power.
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