State-run dailies in Tehran celebrated the senator’s fatal aortic tear, warning Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu they could face a similar sudden end.
TEHRAN, July 13 — Iranian state-run newspapers aren’t mourning US Senator Lindsey Graham. They’ve plastered his demise across front pages, using the South Carolina Republican’s fatal aortic tear to threaten President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly.
The national daily Hamshahri led the charge on Monday morning with a highly provocative mocked-up illustration. They printed a graphic showing Trump down on one knee, appearing to weep over a photograph of Graham. Beside the US president stand American Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Netanyahu, both looking stunned by the scene. And they’ve slapped a blunt headline right above their heads: “Get Ready for Sudden Death.”
State broadcasters didn’t hide their grim satisfaction either. An Iranian television newsreader went viral on Sunday after she publicly congratulated the nation, declaring the veteran lawmaker belonged in hell for his relentless anti-Iran policies. It’s a stark escalation in rhetoric from Tehran following Graham’s passing on July 11 from what his office confirmed as a brief and sudden illness.
Why exactly is Tehran celebrating a foreign politician’s medical emergency? Graham didn’t just whisper his opposition behind closed doors; he championed the most aggressive American military policies in the Middle East. He consistently backed heavy military assistance to Ukraine in its gruelling war against Russia, staunchly supported Israel during the Gaza conflict, and openly demanded the overthrow of the Iranian government following the February 28 US-Israeli attacks.
He hadn’t been acting as a mere spectator, either. In the weeks preceding the latest direct clashes with Iran, Graham travelled to Israel multiple times to meet with officials from Mossad, the national intelligence agency. According to The Wall Street Journal, he used those strategic visits to advise Netanyahu on the exact diplomatic arguments needed to persuade Trump to authorise military action against Tehran.
But his sudden death hasn’t just triggered celebrations in Iran; it’s ignited wild conspiracy theories back in America. Members of Trump’s MAGA base have seized on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ previous assassination threats against the senator. They’re demanding sweeping federal investigations on social media, aggressively refusing to accept the preliminary medical examiner’s finding of a natural aortic rupture.
Iranian officials aren’t doing anything to quell those swirling suspicions. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei faced reporters on Monday and called Graham malicious, cementing the state’s official stance on the tragedy. He told the press room that Iranians won’t shed tears for a man who built his entire political life on aggression and intimidation.
Meanwhile, the hardline newspaper Vatan-e Emrooz didn’t hold back its own front-page vitriol on July 13. They dubbed Graham the “Merchant of Death,” pointing to his highly controversial suggestions that Israel could justify dropping nuclear weapons on Gaza. The conflict there has ground on since October 2023, persisting even after diplomats brokered a ceasefire agreement with Hamas a year later. They’ve framed his passing as a sudden illness sent directly by divine retribution.
This isn’t an isolated media stunt from the Iranian capital. Just a day earlier, Hamshahri released a detailed infographic naming 13 foreign leaders they claim deserve assassination in retaliation for the targeted killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. So, they’ve seamlessly folded Graham’s natural passing into their wider, state-sponsored narrative of promised vengeance.
Back in Washington, the administration couldn’t be painting a more different picture. Trump ordered American flags to fly at half-mast across the United States until Saturday evening, ensuring the nation formally recognises the loss. He took to his Truth Social platform, insisting Graham stood as a true American patriot who historians won’t forget.
“Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and senators I have ever known, is dead,” Trump wrote, adding that he’d miss his close ally greatly. He didn’t mince words, signing off with a capitalised blessing for his old friend.
Netanyahu echoed that profound grief during an NBC Meet the Press interview. He told reporters he couldn’t accept the reality of the loss, praising the senator’s vibrant energy and long-standing, unapologetic defence of Israel’s survival. The Israeli leader didn’t hesitate to declare that America had lost a great patriot, while Israel had lost an irreplaceable champion.
The global split couldn’t be sharper. Western leaders are pouring out tributes to a man who anchored transatlantic security for decades. Iranian media outlets are printing hit lists and using a medical tragedy to taunt their geopolitical enemies.
The regime in Tehran won’t let a crisis go to waste.
