Trump ally Lindsey Graham predicts Strait of Hormuz talks will fail

WASHINGTON, DC: GOP Senator Lindsey Graham, who leaves no opportunity to express his staunch support for President Donald Trump, said that the diplomatic efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz are expected to fail.

However, Graham argued that he would "rather try diplomacy than take it off the table."

Officials from the US and Iran are currently gathered in Switzerland to discuss the terms of the deal further as 60-days negotiation period begins.

Graham says diplomatic efforts expected to fail

Lindsey Graham, appearing on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” on Sunday said that he expects the US's attempts to reach a diplomatic solution with Iran to fail, though he noted that he would "rather try diplomacy than take it off the table."

"Let's try a diplomatic solution. I think it's going to fail. What happens next?" Graham added.

Vice President JD Vance and other US negotiators met with Iranian officials in Switzerland on Sunday as a 60-day negotiating window began following last week's memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran.

However, the agreement is already facing new challenges. Fresh clashes between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have raised concerns about the durability of the ceasefire, while Iran announced Saturday that it would again close the Strait of Hormuz after accusing the United States and Israel of violating the agreement.

Graham says Trump would take Hormuz ‘by force’

The South Carolina Senator, Graham, who claimed to have spent around four and half hours with Trump on Friday, discussing the Iran deal, said that if the deal fails, he expects "President Trump is going to take the Strait of Hormuz over by force."

"The United States will control the Strait of Hormuz, we'll charge a fee for all those who go through to pay for the operation, and we're going to expand the Abraham Accords in calendar year 2026," Graham said.  

Graham added, "if Iran contests control of the Strait of Hormuz by the United States, we will obliterate them."

"So, to all the people listening, if this diplomatic effort fails, President Trump is going to take the Strait of Hormuz. We're going to run it," Graham said.

"We're going to try to get Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords, end the Arab-Israeli conflict in 2026. And if Iran continues to attack Israel and Lebanon, the new policy will be, we'll hit Iran."

Earlier this month, Graham — who has long held hawkish views on Iran — came out strongly against the initial contours of the deal, expressing his discontent over $300 billion to reconstruct Iran.