US Senator Lindsey Graham warned that if Iran’s security forces continue killing protesters, President Donald Trump would order the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday.
Graham delivered the warning in a Fox News interview, addressing Iran’s clerical leadership and urging an end to the crackdown. His comments came as nationwide demonstrations entered their eleventh day.
Graham said Tehran’s leadership should “take Trump seriously,” asserting that continued lethal force against demonstrators would invite direct retaliation at the highest levels.
The senator directed his message at the regime's leadership, saying, "If you keep killing your people who are demanding a better life, Donald J. Trump is going to kill you.”
Graham pointed to Venezuela as a cautionary example for Tehran, calling the US capture of Nicolas Maduro “a prime example of America at her best.” He argued that firm US action in Caracas should signal to Iran’s leaders that Washington will not tolerate lethal crackdowns on protesters.
Graham added that allowing Maduro to remain in power after a major American show of force would be a “fatal mistake to our standing in the world,” presenting Venezuela as a template for restoring deterrence.
Protests have spread widely with concrete signs of escalation on the ground. In the western city of Abdanan, videos showed large crowds marching and chanting “Death to Khamenei,” while social media claims suggested some police may have sided with demonstrators.
Lawmakers abroad pointed to the street momentum, with the US House Foreign Affairs Committee stating that protesters were “claiming entire cities” and circulating videos of the Abdanan marches and anti-regime chants to illustrate the scale of the challenge to authorities.
Death toll of Iranian protesters rises as security forces continue crackdown
Circulating reports have stated that at least 34 protesters were killed and 2,076 arrests occured nationwide, with unrest spanning 92 cities across 27 provinces.
Another members of Iran's security forces were killed, while arrests surged from roughly 1,203 to 2,076 in a single day as protests intensified nationwide.
Opposition figures sought to organize coordinated actions. Reza Pahlavi called for synchronized nightly chants at 8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, saying thousands of regime insiders had quietly joined a new National Cooperation Platform over the past six months to support unified protest activity.