Lindsey Graham Warns Iran Trump Will Target Khamenei Over Protest Killings

A stark warning from Washington has put Iran’s ruling clerics on notice, as US Senator Lindsey Graham declared that continued bloodshed against protesters could bring the most severe consequences imaginable for the regime’s leadership.

Speaking in a televised interview, Graham said that if Iran’s security forces keep killing demonstrators demanding basic freedoms, President Donald Trump would respond by ordering the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The comments came as protests across Iran entered their eleventh consecutive day, with unrest spreading to dozens of cities and provinces.

Graham’s message was blunt and directed squarely at the top of Iran’s power structure. He urged Tehran’s leaders to take the warning seriously, saying that the Trump administration has already shown it is willing to act decisively against brutal regimes that turn their weapons on their own people.

“If you keep killing your people who are demanding a better life,” Graham said, “Donald J. Trump is going to kill you.” The senator framed the warning not as rhetoric, but as a credible threat rooted in recent American actions.

As evidence, Graham pointed to Venezuela, where US forces captured longtime dictator Nicolás Maduro in a dramatic operation that stunned the international community. He described the move as “a prime example of America at her best,” arguing that it demonstrated Washington’s willingness to act against leaders who rely on violence and repression to stay in power.

According to circulating reports from inside Iran, the regime’s crackdown has already claimed the lives of at least 34 protesters, while arrests have surged past 2,000 nationwide. Demonstrations have been reported in 92 cities across 27 provinces, reflecting the scale and persistence of the unrest. Iranian security forces have also suffered casualties, underscoring the intensity of the confrontations.

The rapid rise in arrests has been especially striking. Figures reportedly jumped from roughly 1,200 detainees to more than 2,000 in a single day as protests intensified, signaling an aggressive effort by authorities to crush the movement through mass detentions and force.

At the same time, opposition figures are attempting to channel the anger into coordinated action. Reza Pahlavi, a prominent opposition leader, has called for synchronized nightly chants at 8 p.m., urging Iranians to make their voices heard in unison. He has also claimed that thousands of insiders within the regime have quietly joined a new National Cooperation Platform over the past six months, aimed at unifying protest activity and accelerating pressure on the ruling elite.

For Israel and its supporters, the situation is being watched closely. Jerusalem has long warned that the Iranian regime’s brutality at home mirrors its aggression abroad, from backing terror proxies to threatening Israel’s very existence. Graham’s remarks echo a view widely held in Israel: that firm, unmistakable deterrence is often the only language Tehran understands.

Whether the warning will change the regime’s calculus remains to be seen. What is clear is that the Iranian leadership is facing growing unrest at home and an increasingly uncompromising posture from Washington. The coming days may prove decisive, not only for Iran’s protesters, but for the future balance of power in the region.

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