Lankford: “We Cannot Allow a Nuclear-Armed Iran”

Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Oklahoma Senator James Lankford, a key member of the Senate Intelligence and Homeland Security Committees, offered a sobering assessment of U.S. tensions with Iran, defending recent American actions and warning of the dangers posed by Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

“No one wants a war in the Middle East,” Lankford began, echoing the sentiments of lawmakers across the aisle. “President Trump has made it clear he’s not trying to start one. He’s focused on protecting American lives around the world.” Lankford noted that over 700,000 Americans are currently in Israel and facing increasing threats in the region, including 174 attacks on U.S. warships off the coast of Yemen using Iranian-supplied weapons.

Lankford emphasized that these provocations are part of a larger pattern of Iranian aggression, including multiple attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq. He also challenged the narrative that Iran is far from developing nuclear weapons. “The International Atomic Energy Agency reported on May 30 that Iran was just two days away from having its first weapons-grade uranium. That’s not a distant threat. That’s imminent,” he warned.

As Iran’s foreign minister meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin to strengthen their strategic partnership, Lankford pointed out the deepening alliance between two aggressive regimes. “Putin is slaughtering Ukrainians with Iranian weapons. Iran continues to be the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism. We cannot allow that country to also possess nuclear arms.”

In response to critics who blame former President Trump’s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear agreement for the current escalation, Lankford pushed back. “That agreement gave Iran 10 years to legally develop their nuclear capabilities. Trump said no. You don’t get a bomb—ever,” he explained. “Iran later dismantled cameras and inspection equipment from their nuclear sites. That wasn’t the U.S. walking away. That was Iran shutting the world out.”

He also highlighted the underground nuclear facility at Fordow as a key concern. “There’s no way to stop Iran’s weaponization efforts there without American involvement,” Lankford said. “President Trump authorized action to eliminate that capability when Iran refused to come to the table.”

Addressing the claim that recent actions violate constitutional limits, Lankford referenced a tweet from a personal account tied to Rep. Sean Casten, which declared the president’s authority to strike Iran without congressional approval as “an impeachable offense.” Lankford responded bluntly: “If Democrats take back Congress, impeachment will be back on the table. It’s their playbook.”

He added that prominent Democrats—including Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Sen. Tim Kaine—are already pushing to limit the president’s ability to act preemptively in the region. “We’re talking about a nation that backs Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and the Shia militias in Iraq,” Lankford warned. “They are attacking American warships while advancing a nuclear program and chanting ‘Death to America.’ That’s a threat.”

Lankford concluded with a reference to the post-9/11 doctrine: “We don’t wait to be attacked. If we know a threat is coming, we stop it. No one wants war—but we won’t stand by while Iran prepares to strike.”

With tensions escalating and diplomacy stalled, Senator Lankford’s remarks underscore the high stakes of U.S. policy in the Middle East—and the growing divide over how to confront Iran’s nuclear ambitions.