Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham told President Donald Trump to take strong action in Iran amid a brutal crackdown on protesters who have taken to the streets in recent days against the Islamic government.
Speaking to Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, the South Carolina senator urged Trump to kill Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whom he called ‘the modern-day Hitler’ and a ‘religious Nazi’ who the Iranian people would love to see gone.
‘If I were you, Mr. President, I would kill the leadership that are killing the people,’ Graham said on Sunday Morning Futures. ‘You gotta end this.’
Doing so, he said, would ’embolden’ those protesting and could lead to peace in the Middle East – including an end to ‘state-sponsored terrorism’ from Hamas and Hezbollah, and even a peace deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
‘I have faith in you Mr. President, I have trust in you. You are the Ronald Reagan-plus of our time,’ the MAGA senator said after earlier comparing Trump’s rhetoric on the Iranian protests to Reagan’s famous declaration that Mikhail Gorbachev tear down the Berlin wall.
‘End this, end this well,’ he concluded as the outro music started playing.
‘Stand with the people, Mr. President. Let them know you’re going to kill their oppressors.’
Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham urged President Donald Trump to ‘kill’ Iran’s Supreme Leader in an interview with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on Sunday
His remarks came just hours before Trump warned that Iran is close to crossing a ‘red line’ after the nation’s security forces killed a reported 500 protesters
Graham’s remarks came just hours before Trump warned that Iran is close to crossing a ‘red line’ after the nation’s security forces killed a reported 500 protesters during a brutal crackdown against demonstrations in Tehran.
He told reporters on Air Force One that he and his team are ‘looking at some very strong options’ to take against the Middle Eastern nation.
‘The military’s looking at it,’ Trump said. ‘We’re looking at some very strong options, we’ll make a determination.’
It remains unclear what options the president may now take, after repeatedly warning Iranian authorities against the use of force in what he has described as a push for freedom in the Islamic nation.
But those familiar with the discussions have said most of the options Trump has been presented with are ‘non-kinetic,’ meaning they would not involve direct military strikes as it is feared Khamenei may seek sanctuary in Russia.
Still, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has discussed the possibility of American intervention with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu over the weekend, and the State Department has taken a hardline tone on the situation in Iran.
It has pointed to previous actions the Trump administration has taken against adversarial governments as evidence that the president follows through on his warnings.
As one source told the Daily Mail: ‘The Americans certainly haven’t ruled out striking the regime. They are in touch with their regional allies who are assessing the situation.’
Yet Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament, yesterday warned the US against a ‘miscalculation’ while his colleagues chanted ‘Death to America.’
The massive anti-government protests sweeping Iran were triggered by anger over rampant inflation – but quickly escalated to calls for the departure of Khamenei, who has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1989
Many Iranians now believe exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi, who fled to the US with his father, the deposed Shah, after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, will be their next leader
The massive anti-government protests sweeping Iran were triggered by anger over rampant inflation – but quickly escalated to calls for the departure of Khamenei, who has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1989.
Footage shows protesters burning images of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and waving the country’s old pre-Islamic flag with its distinctive lion and sun emblem.
Many protesters had placards carrying the image of exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi, who fled to the US with his father, the deposed Shah, after the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Iranian officials have since threatened reprisals against any Western intervention, as they blame the protests on US and Israeli agitators.
Meanwhile, Iranian authorities have been cracking down on the protests, cutting off the Internet to stop the world from watching as they killed the demonstrators.
Many protesters had placards carrying the image of exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi
Women were seen without headscarves lighting pictures of Khamenei on fire and using it to light their cigarettes
Iranian officials have blamed the protests on the US and Israel
US-based human rights group HRANA says it has verified the deaths of 490 protesters and 48 security personnel, with more than 10,600 arrested.
The estimated number killed more than doubled in 24 hours amid the regime’s desperate bid to ensure its own survival.
Tehran last night announced three days of mourning in honor of those killed in the ‘national resistance battle’.
Iran’s attorney general has warned that anyone protesting will be deemed an ‘enemy of God’ – an offense that carries the death penalty.
Still, the limited social media footage available suggests mass protests continue even as body bags start to pile up on the streets.
Rubina Aminian, 23, was shot in the back of the head by Iranian security services after joining the street protests after a day of classes in her textiles program at Shariati College on Thursday
Body bags have started to line up in the streets
One of the victims has now been identified as 23-year-old Robina Aminian, who was shot in the back of the head at close range on Thursday as she left college to join one of the dozens of demonstrations sweeping the country.
As human rights groups warned the death toll in Iran has topped 500, Robina’s family were forced to search through ‘hundreds’ of bodies at a makeshift mortuary to find her.
Her grieving uncle said the fashion student had a ‘thirst for freedom’ in a country that has been ruled by hardline clerics for almost half a century.
‘She was a strong girl, a courageous girl – not someone you could control or make decisions for,’ her uncle Nezar Minouei told CNN.
‘She fought for what she knew was right, and she fought hard. She was thirsty for freedom, thirsty for women’s rights – her rights. She was alive. She lived.’
After learning of her death, Robina’s family travelled from their home in Kermanshah, only to be taken to a location near the college where they were forced to sift through the bodies of hundreds of young people killed during the protests.
According to Iran Human Rights (IHR), Robina’s mother was made to search among the dead.
A source told IHR: ‘Most of the victims were between 18 and 22 years old and had been shot at close range in the head or neck.’
