How Lindsey Graham Persuaded Trump to Attack Iran
This article examines the influence of the late Senator Lindsey Graham on President Trump's foreign policy, specifically regarding the decision to go to war with Iran. It highlights Graham's role as a bridge between traditional interventionism and Trump's isolationist tendencies.
Why it matters
Offers insight into the internal political dynamics and decision-making processes that led to a major U.S. military conflict.
The senator was a GOP throwback in an age of isolationism.
Doug Mills / The New York Times / Redux July 13, 2026, 12:54 PM ET Share Save D ays before the U.S. launched its war on Iran in late February, a senior Arab official was being escorted through the West Wing when the Oval Office door swung open to present three familiar faces: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham.
“What are you doing here?” the Arab official asked Graham, half in jest. (He’d sat down with the senator just days before.) “I’m always here!” Graham shot back with a smile, the official told me.
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