The Iranian regime may fall within weeks, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said during a press conference in Tel Aviv on Monday.

“We’re on the verge of eliminating the greatest state sponsor of terrorism in the region,” Graham said. “We’re in for weeks, not months.”

“President Trump is very good at making sure people don’t play him by giving them deadlines. I think you may see that now with Iran,” he added. 

Graham said that President Donald Trump is pursuing diplomacy “to find a way to end this regime diplomatically that will advance our national security interests,” while leaving the military option open.

“I think President Trump is looking to see which line will catch the biggest fish,” he added.

Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are in total agreement about how to proceed to weaken the Iranian regime, Graham said.

“There is no light between President Trump and Bibi about what to do and how to do it,” Graham said, later adding: “That’s what the president told me.” 

After their meeting at the White House last week, Netanyahu characterized Trump’s assessment of Iran negotiations as overly optimistic of the regime’s intentions, saying, “The president thinks the Iranians understand who they’re dealing with. He thinks the conditions he is setting, combined with their understanding that they made a mistake last time not reaching a deal, could bring them to agree to conditions that will allow a good deal to be reached.” 

But Netanyahu’s own view was more reserved: “I do not hide my general skepticism about the possibility of any deal with Iran.”

Graham called on the U.S. to “meet the moment” to topple the regime in Tehran. 

The senator said both that he is “hopeful that diplomacy may prevail yet,” but when asked if he thinks a diplomatic solution is possible, he noted that Iran is “prone to cheat,” and that “based on the past, no,” but he is willing to give it a chance.

He pointed out that the military option is still on the table and that “the [USS] Gerald Ford [aircraft carrier] is steaming this way. I don’t think they’re just going for better weather.”

“In the coming weeks, if we can’t find a diplomatic solution, we will engage in the great endeavor of supporting the Iranian people, demanding their freedom and the end of their oppression,” he stated.

To reach that goal, Graham said, “we have military capability second to none. There’s no more clever nation than Israel and no more powerful nation than the United States.”

Asked if he thinks a military solution could actually bring about the end of the regime, Graham said that the Iranian regime is “weak” and “will collapse with sustained pressure,” and noted that their Air Force flies planes “from the 80s.” 

“To anybody who believes the ayatollah can withstand all of this — you’re wrong,” he said.

Graham said the way to topple the regime militarily is to “kill the people who do the killing and see if the next guy wants to volunteer. … To those who want to appease: It never works. How many times could we have stopped Hitler? A bunch … The ayatollah represents evil incarnate to me.”

Graham acknowledged that military action in Iran could endanger American troops and result in the regime shooting ballistic missiles at Israel, but said “the risk associated with that is far less than the risk associated with blinking and pulling the plug and not helping the [Iranian] people as we promised. … We have to be good to our word.”

Should the mullahs’ regime fall, Graham said, it will be the result of Israel’s “determination to … go on the offensive” in response to the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas, sponsored in part by Iran, and the “bravery of the people of Iran, who said ‘we’ve had it; we want change.’” 

“I look forward to the day that Israel no longer has to fear a nuclear weapon developed by the Iranian regime,” he said.

Graham also recalled attending a demonstration against the Iranian regime in Munich over the weekend, and displayed a “Make Iran Great Again” hat, the idea for which, he said, came from diplomat Morgan Ortagus.

“The best way to make Iran great again is through the people, not the ayatollah,” Graham said.

In Gaza, Graham said that Hamas is “playing a game,” and Trump should set a time limit for disarmament. 

“I think it’s either going to take pressure from the region to get a monster to disarm, or Israel is going to have to go back in and wipe them out. The sooner we get an answer to those questions the better,” he said. 

Graham also expressed doubts that Gaza can be rebuilt “if right down the road there’s a neighborhood controlled by Hamas.”

Graham’s remarks came following meetings with Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, and he plans to visit the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks.

The senator said one recurring theme in his meetings in Israel was expressions of appreciation for UAE leadership, specifically President Mohammed bin Zayed, as “a stalwart, reliable partner under difficult circumstances.” 

As for concerns about antisemitic and anti-Israel messages coming out of Saudi Arabia, Graham said that he knows Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman well, and that he “believe[s] he still has the same vision for the region as he did before Oct. 7, but Oct. 7 took its toll.”

Graham expressed support for Netanyahu’s plan to taper off U.S. military aid over the next decade, saying that “rather than writing a check, he wants to create a partnership. … I like that idea. The wars of the future are being planned here in Israel, because if you’re not one step ahead of the enemy, you suffer. … We’re looking at Israel advancing down the road of new weaponry far beyond us. It would be nice to be part of that process.”

As to Trump calling Israeli President Isaac Herzog a “disgrace” for not yet deciding whether to pardon Netanyahu of his various corruption charges, Graham said: “I’ll leave that to President Herzog.”