Washington, May 4 -- Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has publicly endorsed Donald Trump's latest maritime initiative, dubbed "Project Freedom", which authorises American forces to provide safe passage for vessels currently trapped within the Strait of Hormuz.

The senior lawmaker's backing comes amid stalled diplomatic efforts to resolve the regional crisis. Expressing his frustration with the current state of talks, Graham took to social media to criticise Tehran's recent conduct.

"It is clear to me that Iran is playing games through negotiations, as their last offer to end the conflict was absurd," he wrote in a post on X.

Linking the need for a robust military presence to the failure of these discussions, Graham argued that the Uni...