Lindsey Graham Says $1B a Day on Iran War Is “Best Money Ever Spent” 

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) said that the U.S.’s billions of dollars in spending on the U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran is the “best money ever spent” — as oil prices see a historic spike and millions of Americans languish under an affordability crisis accelerated by Trump’s economic policies.

On Sunday, Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo asked Graham about the estimated $1 billion per day price tag for the war, reported by The Atlantic’s Nancy Youssef last week. “A billion dollars a day. Oil prices up 27 percent in a week. You’ve got the president wanting a $1.5 trillion defense budget in ‘27. The idea that the Pentagon is about to come to you for $50 billion on these strikes to Iran. How are you gonna answer?” Bartiromo said.

“Best money ever spent,” responded Graham, a longtime proponent of war with Iran. “What’s it worth to America to take down a religious Nazi regime who’s trying to build a nuclear weapon to deliver to America? That’s a really good investment,” he said, repeating the lie that Iran was actively trying to build a nuclear weapon.

The senator went on to brag that the U.S. is going to “make a ton of money” off of the war.

Iran health officials have said that 1,255 people have been killed in the war launched illegally by the U.S. and Israel so far, and over 12,000 have been wounded. Humanitarian sources say that these attacks have killed 1,205 civilians, including at least 194 children.

“When this regime goes down, we’re going to have a new Mideast, we’re going to make a ton of money, nobody will threaten the Straits of Hormuz again,” Graham said. “But Donald J. Trump saved the world from world chaos.”

U.S.-Israeli strikes on oil depots over the weekend caused apocalyptic scenes as massive explosions sent thick plumes of fire and smoke into the air. Oil saturated rain water and clouds loomed heavily over the capital of Tehran, which has a population of 9 million, on Sunday, causing black rain to fall and an environmental crisis that will harm Iranians for decades to come.

The war has caused a record spike in oil prices, with costs rising to nearly $120 a barrel on Monday — a 40 percent rise over pre-war levels, and the highest price since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Price shocks have already caused gas prices to rise in the U.S. by nearly 17 percent since the U.S. and Israel’s first illegal strikes on February 28.

These cost spikes will drive the U.S. even further into its affordability crisis. The Urban Institute finds that over half of Americans are experiencing economic insecurity as prices for groceries, child care, housing, and health insurance have risen higher than incomes have risen in recent years.

Trump’s economic policies have made matters worse; the U.S. lost a dismal 92,000 jobs in February. Millions are being kicked off of their health insurance and Medicaid as a result of cuts that Republicans, including Graham, voted for last year. The Trump administration, meanwhile, has funneled billions of dollars toward billionaires and his own family.

The Pentagon is reportedly stonewalling requests from lawmakers on exact figures for the cost of the war. Estimates, however, say that it is costing billions. The Center for American Progress estimates that it cost over $5 billion in the first three days alone, including the buildup before the bombing; The New York Times reported on Saturday that Pentagon officials say the first week cost $6 billion.

The Trump administration is reportedly set to seek another $50 billion on top of the Pentagon’s $1 trillion budget for the war.

Whatever cost, however, is seemingly worth it to Graham — who reportedly teamed up with Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to strategize on how to goad Trump into starting a war.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Graham travelled to Israel multiple times over the past few weeks in order to strategize. Netanyahu himself was “coaching him on how to lobby the president for action,” Wall Street Journal reported after an interview with the senator.

Though Israel pushed hard for the war, Graham pushed Trump to make sure it had America’s stamp, he’s said.

“There was a real fight not to do it,” Graham said in an interview with Politico last week. “Let Israel do it by itself or just not do much. So we talked a lot about this: ‘Mr. President, you want to have your fingerprints on this. You want them to know America will fight.’”

Graham has also spent recent days encouraging other Gulf nations to join the U.S. and Israel’s assaults on Iran. On Monday, Graham issued a veiled threat toward Saudi Arabia, questioning why the U.S. should ally with the country when it isn’t willing to join the fighting.

“Americans are dying and the U.S. is spending billions to dislodge the terrorist Iranian regime that threatens the region. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia seems to be issuing statements and doing things in the background that are marginally helpful, but unwilling to participate in military operations to end the reign of terror coming out of Iran,” said Graham.

“Hopefully Gulf Cooperation Council countries will get more involved as this fight is in their backyard,” he went on. “If you are not willing to use your military now, when are you willing to use it?”