Senator Lindsey Graham to Introduce Resolution Demanding Total Dismantlement of Iran’s Nuclear Program

By: Fern Sidman

In a bold legislative move aimed at shaping the future of U.S. diplomacy with Iran, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is preparing to introduce a Senate resolution declaring that the only acceptable outcome of nuclear negotiations with Tehran is the total dismantlement of Iran’s uranium enrichment capabilities, as was reported by The Jewish Insider (jewishinsider.com) on Tuesday.

Graham, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary and Appropriations Committees, intends to formally unveil the resolution as early as Thursday. The initiative has already attracted support from key Republican colleagues, including Sens. Katie Britt (R-AL) and Tom Cotton (R-AR), and has been crafted in response to ongoing U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations under the Trump administration.

The proposed resolution comes amid growing unease among Republicans on Capitol Hill who fear that President Donald Trump’s current approach to nuclear talks may replicate aspects of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) negotiated under President Barack Obama, according to the information provided in The Jewish Insider report. The JCPOA allowed Iran to maintain limited enrichment capacity under tight inspections — terms that Graham and many others in the GOP now strongly oppose.

However, Graham has expressed confidence that Trump will not capitulate to similar terms this time around. Speaking with Jewish Insider on Tuesday, the South Carolina senator revealed that he has held private conversations with the former president and is assured that the Trump administration will pursue a much tougher line.

“I have spoken directly with President Trump, and he understands clearly the need to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program entirely,” Graham told Jewish Insider. “This resolution reflects that conviction.”

The original draft of the resolution, obtained by Jewish Insider, strikes an uncompromising tone toward the Iranian regime. It explicitly condemns Iran’s “decades of cheating” on international nuclear commitments, its “barbaric nature,” and its “open commitment to destroying the State of Israel.”

The resolution states unequivocally that the United States must pursue the “complete dismantlement and destruction of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s entire nuclear program.” This includes not only eliminating current enrichment capabilities but also preventing Iran from maintaining any infrastructure or technical knowledge that could lead to future nuclear development.

Importantly, the resolution also lays out a framework for what Graham calls a “follow-on agreement” — a formal arrangement under Section 123 of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act, known as a “123 Agreement.” The Jewish Insider reported that this would allow peaceful nuclear cooperation between the U.S. and Iran only if Tehran fully accepts the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) protocols for nuclear safeguards and agrees to permanently forgo uranium enrichment and reprocessing capabilities.

Graham told The Jewish Insider that he is actively coordinating with both the Trump White House and Israeli officials to finalize the resolution’s language. “We’re working with the White House; they want some changes. I sent it to Israel; they want some changes,” Graham said, acknowledging the sensitive nature of balancing U.S. strategic objectives with regional security concerns.

While no firm date has been set for a floor vote, Graham is optimistic that the resolution could be brought up for consideration as early as next week.

“We need to set a clear and firm marker — for both our allies and adversaries — that Iran cannot and will not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons under any circumstances,” he said.

In his remarks, Graham highlighted the dire consequences he believes would follow if Iran were to ever obtain a nuclear weapon, as per the report at The Jewish Insider.

“It’d be the most destabilizing thing in the world, I believe, if Iran ever acquired a nuclear weapon capability,” Graham warned. “I think the Sunni Arab world would want to go down that road also. You’d have a nuclear arms race in the Mideast.”

Graham went even further in characterizing Iran’s ambitions. “The Ayatollah and his henchmen are virtual religious Nazis,” he said at a press conference last month. “They openly talk about destroying the State of Israel. They write it on the side of their missiles. And I believe them.”

This stark rhetoric underscores the urgency with which Graham views the situation. He sees Iran’s nuclear ambitions not as a tool of deterrence but as a weapon that would empower a radical theocratic regime to act on its long-stated threats against Israel and regional adversaries.

While the resolution is expected to garner support among Senate Republicans, its path through a politically divided Congress remains uncertain. Some Democrats have advocated for re-engaging diplomatically with Iran through modified frameworks that still allow limited enrichment under IAEA monitoring, similar to the JCPOA.

Still, Graham’s resolution is designed to shift the parameters of debate in Washington and to strengthen the Trump administration’s negotiating hand. As The Jewish Insider reported, the resolution serves both as a policy statement and as a litmus test for lawmakers on where they stand regarding Iran’s future nuclear status.

The resolution represents a stark line in the sand — rejecting incremental or compromise-driven diplomacy in favor of total disarmament. It also signals a deepening alignment between American and Israeli strategic thinking, both of which view Iran’s nuclear potential as an existential threat.

For now, the spotlight turns to the White House, where negotiators continue discussions with Tehran over a potential ceasefire-for-hostage deal involving Hamas and Israel, as well as broader talks over Iran’s nuclear program. Though details remain sparse, any emerging deal will now face heightened scrutiny from Capitol Hill, with Graham’s resolution providing a framework for hardline opposition to anything less than total Iranian nuclear dismantlement.

In the words of Graham, as reported by Jewish Insider, “A nuclear Iran is not just an Israeli problem — it’s a global problem. And the longer we pretend that half-measures will work, the closer we get to catastrophe.”