Overview
- Sen. Lindsey Graham told Fox News that President Donald Trump would kill Iran’s supreme leader if authorities continue killing protesters, calling Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a “religious Nazi.”
- Graham urged regime change and told Iranians that “help is on the way,” signaling explicit U.S. political support for demonstrators.
- Trump previously posted that the United States is “locked and loaded” to come to the aid of peaceful protesters if they are shot and killed.
- Protests that began after a sharp rial devaluation and rising prices have spread nationwide, with activist group HRANA reporting dozens killed and over 2,000 detained.
- Iran’s army chief Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami warned that intensified U.S. rhetoric is considered a threat that will not be left without a response, while U.S. media figures such as Megyn Kelly urged restraint.