Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of President Donald Trump, sent an unusual message to Lebanon on Monday, saying in a CBS interview, "To the people in Lebanon, help is on the way. Hezbollah has been terrorizing your country for a long time. That's about to end." His remarks came amid a breakdown in negotiations and after Trump issued new threats against Tehran.
Earlier in the day, Trump warned that Iran must immediately stop its proxies in Lebanon from "making trouble," or the United States would strike Iran again "very hard, just like last week, only harder." He also said he is "holding all the cards" against the Iranian regime and warned that if talks in Switzerland do not produce progress, "I have a 60-day option and then I will do what I want."
Following the comments, Arab media reported that the Iranian delegation halted the discussions and left the negotiating table angrily. Shortly before that, Tehran issued its own ultimatum, saying talks could not continue unless Israel fully withdrew from Lebanon and fighting ended on all fronts.
At the same time, Iranian officials threatened that continued Israeli strikes on Hezbollah would lead to "a harsher action."
