The death of US Senator Lindsey Graham on Saturday prompted an outpouring of tributes from across the political spectrum, including from Iranian opposition figures who remembered him as one of the most outspoken American supporters of the Iranian people’s struggle against the Islamic Republic. Graham died at the age of 71 following what his office described as a “brief and sudden illness.”
Throughout the past year, Graham emerged as one of the most vocal advocates in Washington for backing the Iranian opposition and increasing pressure on the Islamic Republic, repeatedly arguing that the United States should stand with the Iranian people rather than their rulers.
Speaking before a crowd of hundreds of thousands of Iranian demonstrators at a rally in Munich on February 14, Graham declared, “It is a time of choosing. I choose the Iranian people over the murderous ayatollah. It is time for him to go.”
Holding the pre-1979 Lion and Sun flag, Graham told demonstrators, “Liberation is at hand… The Iranian people will be your friend. They will be your ally. Stand with the Iranian people. They deserve their freedom.”
Following the rally, Graham wrote on X that addressing the demonstration had been “one of the highlights of my life.”
I was incredibly honored to be able to speak in Munich, Germany at a rally of 250,000 supporting the brave Iranian people. Being in the company of so many demanding freedom and justice was inspiring and one of the highlights of my life.
I have chosen the Iranian people over the… pic.twitter.com/XjCmZ8wiOJ
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) February 14, 2026
“I have chosen the Iranian people over the ayatollah,” he wrote. “I believe they could be good allies of the United States… 2026 is the time of choosing. I’ve chosen the brave Iranian people over their oppressor.”
During an interview with CNN on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference at the same time as the rally, Graham acknowledged that regime change carried risks but argued they were outweighed by the dangers of allowing the Islamic Republic to remain in power.
“If Iran’s regime stays standing,” he warned, Iranian dissidents would be eliminated while Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis would continue to grow stronger.
‘Don’t let this moment pass’
He added that he hoped diplomacy could remove the regime but insisted: “We’ve had it with this regime. Think big. Don’t let this moment pass.”
Graham maintained that position even as Washington pursued diplomatic efforts with Tehran. Appearing on CBS’s Face the Nation in June, he said he supported negotiations but believed they were unlikely to succeed.
“Let’s try a diplomatic solution,” he said. “I think it’s going to fail.”
He also warned that if Iran attempted to challenge US control of the Strait of Hormuz, “we will obliterate them.”
Days later, Graham said he hoped the conflict could still end peacefully, writing that the United States now had “an historic opportunity through diplomacy to resolve the conflict with Iran” while preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Graham was also one of the most prominent American political supporters of the exiled Iranian opposition leader, Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, meeting him in Washington in January and telling him: “I believe with all my heart that help is on the way.”
‘A steadfast friend of the Iranian people’
Following news of Graham’s death, Pahlavi described him as “a steadfast friend of the Iranian people and a proud defender of freedom.”
“At moments when moral clarity was required, Senator Graham stood on the right side,” Pahlavi wrote on X. “His support for Iran’s Lion and Sun Revolution earned him the title ‘Uncle Lindsey’ among Iranians. He will be remembered with profound gratitude and deep respect.”
Graham also became a frequent target of the Islamic Republic’s rhetoric. During Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei‘s funeral in Tehran last week, posters displayed Graham alongside other Western officials with red crosshairs superimposed over their faces.
