Senate Republicans Splinter Over Iran Threat

The Senate Republican Conference remains starkly divided on how President Donald Trump should respond to Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

Trump and GOP senators share one common thread: Iran must not obtain a nuclear weapon. Still, the party is divided over whether the U.S. should intervene to topple Iran’s regime — and whether military involvement will be necessary to prevent the country from going nuclear.

From the doves to the hawks, here is where key Republican senators fall on the Israel and Iran conflict.

Rand Paul

Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, believes the president should follow the Constitution’s Declare War Clause.  However, in a Wednesday interview with podcaster Tim Pool, the senator predicted Trump will not turn to Congress to declare war — something that has not officially been done since World War II.

“The president still continues to talk about negotiating, and that’s still my hope, is that he will, in the end, not bomb Iran in exchange for negotiations,” Paul said in the interview. “I will not vote to send one American to Iran. I’m not sending one American soldier over there and I will not support that.”

Paul also told Pool he stands in opposition to potential U.S. airstrikes as well, arguing airstrikes make the U.S. a “combatant” in the war, even if it is not carrying out joint operations with Israel.

Josh Hawley

Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley has said he trusts Trump to avoid both U.S. engagement with Israel to destroy Iran’s nuclear program and a prolonged war in the Middle East. The Missouri senator was also confident that by the end of the conflict, Iran would not have a nuclear weapon or program.

“ handled this situation very deftly. I think his message has been pretty clear, which is that Iran is not going to get a nuke. So they can either surrender their nuclear program peaceably, and he’s willing to the United States facilitate that, or the Israelis are going to blow their program to smithereens,” Hawley said Tuesday following his conversation with Trump about Iran. “Right now they’re choosing the smithereens route. Doesn’t seem very wise to me.”

Tim Sheehy

Republican Montana Sen. Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL, advocated against joining the conflict, calling wars “messy” and “unclear.” Sheehy has pushed back against those who claim the fighting could be quickly resolved if the U.S. bombs Iran’s nuclear facilities at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, calling the stance “completely unrealistic.”

The senator has been clear that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons, but advocates for Trump to pursue negotiations with Iran, leaving Israel to fight its own war. When asked if there should be a regime change in Iran, Sheehy immediately said that this is not a call the U.S. should make.

“Regime change can only come from one place and that’s the people of Iran. They have to make that decision. We’ve learned that the hard way in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I was a part of both those wars, where we chose to change regimes, and guess what? We ended up there for a long time in a war we didn’t understand, fighting for something not all Americans agree with,” Sheehy told CNN.

Thom Tillis

Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, on the other hand, believes it is time for Iran’s regime to topple and said Trump should be given “leeway to affect that.”

“If this is the opportunity to do it and the best military advice recommended to the president is to bust those bunkers, then bust those bunkers and get the leadership out of Tehran and give the Iranian people a chance to be free,” Tillis told CNN. “They are oppressed people. Iran has for years spent billions of dollars funding Hamas, Hezbollah and terrorist cells all around the world. It is time for regime change.”

Kevin Cramer

Republican North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer told Fox News on Wednesday he would be “deeply disappointed” if Israel nearly destroyed Iran’s nuclear capabilities and toppled Iran’s regime but lacked the U.S. assistance to “help finish the job,” pointing to the U.S. bunker buster bombs.

He also argued doing nothing to harm Iran’s nuclear ambitions would be “an error to the world” and claimed a diplomatic solution may be impossible.

“America First has never meant America only, never meant isolationism, and there are people who are part of the MAGA base who are isolationist, I understand that, so it’s complicated,” Cramer told reporters. “But I have no doubt Donald Trump will do what he thinks is best.”

Ted Cruz

Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a self proclaimed “a non-interventionist hawk” on the Foreign Relations Committee, is a staunch supporter of Israel and advocates for peace through strength. Cruz too calls for a regime change in Iran, but would rather see a popular uprising take down the regime rather than the U.S. military.

Cruz has also highlighted the difference in weaponry between Israel and the U.S.

“Fordow was deliberately built deep into a mountain so Israel couldn’t take it out and there’s an active discussion because the U.S. has bunker buster bombs that are big enough to take out Fordow and Israel doesn’t,” Cruz told Tucker Carlson in a podcast episode released Wednesday.

Lindsey Graham

Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham’s stance on the conflict is one of the most hawkish in the Senate, and he told Fox News Tuesday, “The sun is about to set on Iran’s nuclear ambitions.”

“I’m hoping the President will give Israel the help they need to finish the job of the last nuclear site underground. If we accomplish destroying the Iranian nuclear program, it will be historic for the region and historic for the world,” Graham said. “This is a religious Nazi regime bent on purifying Islam, destroying the Jewish state and coming after us. They’re religious Nazis. This regime does not need nor can they ever have a nuclear weapon.”

Graham suggested joint military operations with Israel as well as providing them with more weapons, arguing that Iran surviving as a state-sponsored terrorist organization poses greater danger than the U.S. ending the threat.

The South Carolina senator also rejected the notion that the U.S. could get involved in another prolonged war in the Middle East, suggesting that ending the Iran threat could take less than 20 days.

Graham said he trusts Trump’s judgement, but still disagrees with the president’s statement to hold off on attacking Iran.

“I would like to see this regime fall, but I will leave it up to the president as for what to do and when to do it, but I do know this, if we don’t take out their nuclear program now we’ll all regret it,” Graham said. “We’re very close. Be all in Mr. President in helping Israel finish the job, and let’s see where we’re at after we neutralize their nuclear program.”

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