Graham pushes forceful action as Iran protests face deadly crackdown
Senator Lindsey Graham has called on the United States to take aggressive action against those responsible for killing protesters in Iran. In a post shared Wednesday on X, the South Carolina Republican said America should use any means necessary to stop what he described as ongoing violence by Iran’s ruling regime.
Graham said the question of how the US should respond to Iran is simple. He argued that while supporting protesters is important, it is not enough on its own. According to him, the people ordering and carrying out killings must be stopped immediately to protect Iranian citizens.
Conflicting claims over killings and executions
Graham’s comments came amid mixed messages from US leadership. President Donald Trump said Wednesday afternoon that he had been told by reliable sources that killings had stopped and that executions would not move forward. Trump added that he hoped this information was accurate.
However, Graham disputed that assessment later the same day. In another post, he said every indication he had seen suggested the Iranian regime was still killing protesters. He warned that the death toll was continuing to rise and said there was no sign that violence had slowed.
Trump signals support for Iranian dissidents
President Trump has repeatedly voiced support for Iranian protesters and promised that help is coming. In a Truth Social post earlier in the week, he urged demonstrators to keep protesting and take control of their institutions. He also encouraged them to document the names of officials involved in abuses, warning that those responsible would eventually pay a heavy price.
Trump said he had canceled meetings with Iranian officials until the killings stop. He ended the message with the slogan Make Iran Great Again, signaling his public backing of the protest movement.
Graham calls for pressure without ground troops
Graham, a long time supporter of strong US action against Iran’s leadership, shared Trump’s post and expanded on what he believes help should look like. He said the turning point would be the president’s resolve.
According to Graham, there should be no US boots on the ground. Instead, he called for overwhelming pressure through military force, cyber operations, and psychological measures. He described this approach as unleashing massive pressure on a regime that he claims has crossed every red line.
Growing tensions as US weighs next steps
As protests continue inside Iran, senior Iranian officials have downplayed the reported death toll and blamed outside forces, including Israel, for unrest. Meanwhile, US officials are reportedly weighing further actions as pressure mounts from lawmakers like Graham.
The situation highlights sharp divisions within US leadership over how to respond. While Trump has suggested progress may be happening, Graham insists the violence continues and demands immediate, forceful action to protect Iranian protesters.
