Sen. Lindsey Graham is facing backlash over urging Donald Trump to seize Kharg Island. For those unfamiliar, the region handles 90% of Iran’s oil exports. His comments on the war escalation came during a Fox News interview.
Graham referenced an article in The Atlantic, which warns that if the U.S. is to take the island, it could backfire. The article notes that in the worst-case scenario, American troops in the region would be subject to “ballistic-missile strikes, drone attacks, and petrochemical smoke, all without a reliable means of obtaining logistical support.”
However, Graham believes that the U.S. could pull off the operation:
“I’m sorta tired of all this armchair quarterbacking. (…) My money’s always on the Marines.”
Lindsey Graham on Kharg Island: “We did Iwo Jima. We can do this.” pic.twitter.com/JQJ5lZdvJ8
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 22, 2026
The senator was referring to what the National World War II Museum describes as “one of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history.” The brutal conflict occurred during the final year of the war and resulted in at least 7,000 American deaths and more than 20,000 wounded Marines.
Graham’s comments on Sunday were met with widespread criticism on social media. One user on X (formerly Twitter) noted, “When we finally took Iwo Jima, there were nearly 7,000 U.S. dead and 19,000 wounded. Lindsey didn’t take Iwo Jima. He’s sending our kids to die for oil. Period. This man is a monster.”
“The deadliest battle for U.S. troops since Vietnam saw about one percent of the KIA suffered at Iwo Jima. This is what Lindsey Graham wants to ‘do’ again. This is a ghoulish, bloodthirsty fever we haven’t seen in America in generations.”
Democratic Rep. Jason Crow slammed, “No, Lindsey, ‘we’ didn’t do Iwo Jima. Almost 7,000 Americans died, and 19,000 were wounded in Iwo Jima. And they did it to fight for our freedom—with the support of Congress and the American people.”
No, Lindsey, “we” didn’t do Iwo Jima.
Almost 7,000 Americans who died and 19,000 who were wounded did Iwo Jima.
And they did it to fight for our freedom—with the support of Congress and the American people. https://t.co/BJ7uUSALR7
— Rep. Jason Crow (@RepJasonCrow) March 22, 2026
One user branded Graham as a “psychopath” for his suggestion. Another wrote, “Imagine if you are a U.S. soldier about to be sent into the meat grinder on behalf of Trump, Netanyahu and Graham. How would you feel?”
“Graham can be thankful that the average American in 2026 doesn’t know what Iwo Jima is and how horrible it was,” wrote a third. “Every Sunday, Lindsey Graham goes on national television and proposes new ways to send young men and women to their deaths,” another wrote.
“‘We’ meaning ‘your sons.’ The most restrained thing I can say about their people is that I pray, out of duty and without enthusiasm, that they find repentance and do not get what they deserve,” wrote one.
