US and Israel should bomb Iran: Senator Lindsey Graham

WASHINGTON

The US and Israel should bomb Iran, Senator Lindsey Graham said Wednesday.

Asked during an interview with CNN whether he wanted the US and Israel to "bomb Iran even in the absence of direct evidence of their involvement” in the attack by the Palestinian Hamas group on Israel, the Republican senator responded: "Yeah.”

Graham called for a joint military operation against Iran's infrastructure and said it must pay a price if any hostage taken by Hamas is killed.

"If there's an escalation of this war against Israel, I'm blaming Iran, and it is now time to put them on notice. They will pay a heavy price. I think we can do all those things. I think if there was a war with Iran, we would win," he added.

The senator also blamed the recent events in Israel on Iran.

"If you don't get the connection between Iran and this terrorist activity by Hamas and Hezbollah, you're missing a lot," he added.

Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood early Saturday, firing a barrage of rockets and infiltrating Israel by land, air and sea.

It said the surprise attack was in response to the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and increased settler violence against Palestinians.

In retaliation, the Israeli military launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas.

Nearly 1,200 Palestinians and 1,300 Israelis have been killed since the start of the Israel-Palestine conflict.